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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 

Clark  J.  Milliron 


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AROUND  THE  WORLD 
WITH  UNCLE  SAM; 


OR 


BY 

HERBERT  O.  KOHR. 

A  TRUE  STORY  OF  TRAVEL  AND  ADVENTURE 

BY  A   FORMER  ENLISTED   MAN   OF 

THE  RANKS  IN  THE  U.  S. 

ARMY. 


BEGINNING  WITH   RECRUIT  LIFE  SOLDIERING  IN  COLO- 
RADO, IN  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN,  CAMPAIGN- 
ING IN  CUBA,  AT  BATTLE  OF  EL 
CANEY,  CAPITULATION 
OF  SANTIAGO; 


LATER,   TRAVELING  ACROSS  THE  GREAT  AMERICAN  CONTINENT,  SAILING 
ACROSS  THE  PACIFIC,  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES,  A  YEAR  IN  CHINA 
DURING  BOXER  TROUBLE,  THROUGH  THE  SUEZ 
CANAL,  A  GREAT  STORM  ON  THE  AT- 
LANTIC,   COMPLETING  THE 
TOUR    OF    THE 
WORLD. 

THIS  BOOK  DICTATED  FROM  MEMORY  BY  A  BLIND  MAN. 


Akron,  Ohio. 

The  Commercial  Printing  Company, 
1907 


Copyright,  1907, 

By  HERBERT  O.  KOHR, 

Uhrichsville,  Ohio. 


THE  AUTHOR 

DURING   HIS   SERVICE  IN  THE  ARMY. 


T\  o  0\   I 


Breathes  there  the  man  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 

This  is  my  own,  my  native  land ! 
Whose  heart  has  ne'er  within  him  burned, 
As  home  his  footsteps  he  hath  turned 

From  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand? 
If  such  there  breathe,  go  mark  him  well; 
For  him  no  minstrel  raptures  swell; 
High  though  his  titles,  proud  his  name; 
Boundless  his  wealth  as  wish  can  claim, 
Despite  those  titles,  power  and  pelf 
The  wretch  concentred  all  in  self; 
Living  shall  forfeit  fair  renown, 
And  doubly  dying  shall  go  down 
To  the  vile  dust  from  whence  he  sprung, 
Unwept,  unhonored  and  unsung. 

— Scott. 


850361 


CONTENTS. 

PREFACE 7 

CHAPTER  I. 

My  First  Great  Parade,  or  the  Cause  of  My  Enlist- 
ment in  the  Army 9 

CHAPTER  II. 

A  Recruit  at  Fort  Logan,  or  Two  Years'  Service 
in  Colorado 17 

CHAPTER  III. 

Farewell  to  Fort  Logan.  War  Declared.  From 
Colorado  to  Tampa.  Sailing  to  Cuba 45 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Landing  at  Baiquiri.  Our  Forces  March  to  Las 
Guasimas.  The  Battle  of  El  Caney.  Capture  of 
Santiago 61 

CHAPTER  V. 

Awaiting  Our  Transport.  Home  Again.  Sailing 
for  Manila 81 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Landing  in  Manila.  Campaigning  with  General 
McArthur's  Division.  On  the  North  Line 99 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Campaigning  on  the  South  Line  with  General 
Schwan.  The  Wonderful  Volcano  at  Lagaspi. 
With  General  Bates'  Expedition  to  the  Province  of 
Canierines  in  the  Southern  Portion  of  Luzon . .  .  .117 


CONTENTS.  5 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Back  to  Manila.    Sailing  for  China.    The  Battle  of 
Tientsin 139 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Advance  from  Tientsin.    The  Capture  of  Pek- 
ing.   Relieving  the  Legations 159 

CHAPTER  X. 

A  Winter  in  China.    Back  to  the  Philippines 177 

CHAPTER  XL 

From  Manila  to  New  York  by  Way  of  Suez  Canal. . .  191 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Army  Happenings 205 

PROLOGUE..  ..221 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The  Author  During  His  Service  in  the  Army. 

A  Squad  of  Soldiers  with  Dog  Tents  and  Camp  Equipment. 

Army  Bicycle  Riders  with  Field  Equipment. 

A  Champion  Army  Bicyclist. 

Elephant  Rock. 

A  Group  of  Army  Buglers. 

Natural  Gateway  to  the  Garden  of  the  Gods. 

Army  Sibley  Tents. 

Palmer  Lake,  Colorado. 

Camp  at  Broadmoor  During  Department  Competition. 

Capt.  Chas.  A.  Worden  Looking  from  a  Deserted  House. 

Battalion  Retreat  in  a  Field  Camp. 

Soldiers  Taking  Refreshments  at  a  Mountain  Inn. 

Funeral  Scene,  Native  Band,  Naice,  Cavite  Province. 

A  Group  of  Soldiers  off  Duty  in  an  Army  Tent. 

Water  Buffalos  and  Native. 

A  Group  of  Army  Corporals. 

Unloading  Hemp  for  Manila,  Naice,  Cavite  Province,  P.  I. 

A  Group  of  Soldiers  with  an  Army  Mule. 

Soldiers  in  Full  Dress  Uniform. 

Target  Practice  on  an  Army  Range. 

A  Group  of  Army  Sergeants. 

Scene  in  Army  Sleeping  Room. 

An  Army  Camp  Kitchen. 

The  Author  as  He  Appears  at  the  Present  Time. 


PREFACE. 

N  writing  of  the  Army  or  Army  maneu- 
vers, and  especially  in  campaigning, 
battles  or  engagements,  one  is  apt  oft- 
times,  to  exaggerate  or  picture  these  too 
highly.  In  modern  warfare,  bayonet 
charges,  sabre  encounters  and  hand  to  hand  fighting 
does  not  often  occur  except  in  cases  of  ambushes  or 
where  the  foes  meet  unexpectedly.  It  is  peculiar 
how  many  writers  picture  large  bodies  of  soldiers 
walking  boldly  into  battle,  officers  far  in  the  lead  of 
their  troops,  swinging  their  swords,  rushing  into  the 
enemy  attacking  them  with  pistol  and  sword.  One 
who  has  seen  much  of  hard  campaigning  and  field 
service,  very  seldom  sees  pictures  of  these  descrip- 
tions. With  modern  rifles  and  machine  guns  of  va- 
rious constructions,  this  would  be  impossible  as 
men  would  be  shot  to  pieces  before  going  in  the  open 
10  or  20  paces.  Soldiers  are  trained  to  take  advan- 
tage of  every  bit  of  cover  and  keep  from  view  as 
much  as  possible  in  times  of  battle,  as  with  smokeless 
powder  there  is  no  smoke  to  hide  one  another  from 
view,  like  in  former  days.  One  can  notice  men,  how 
serious  they  look  when  the  sound  of  bullets  and 
shells  begin  to  whistle  through  the  air.  Some  of 
them  show  fear  while  others  are  apparently  uncon- 
cerned as  they  move  forward.  But  most  soldiers 
acknowledge  there  are  hidden  fears  which  do  not  ap- 
pear on  the  surface.  There  are  many  cases  recorded 
of  daring  deeds  in  modern  warfare  as  in  former 
days  but  these  do  not  appear  to  be  as  numerous. 
Perhaps  the  mode  and  greater  velocity  of  bullets 
have  some  effect  on  daring ;  as  a  volley  from  a  small 
squad  of  men  at  eight  hundred  or  one  thousand  yards 
distant  would  prove  disastrous.  One  oftentimes 


8          ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

hears  men  talking  after  they  have  been  in  encounters 
telling  of  great  daring  deeds  which  they  have  accom- 
plished, but  others  who  have  been  with  them  walk 
away  and  smile,  although  two  men  who  have  gone 
through  battles  side  by  side  oftentimes  differ  greatly 
in  their  account  of  the  same ;  one  being  more  excited 
than  the  other.  We  have  often  laughed,  as  soldiers, 
on  reading  newspaper  accounts  of  battles  and  could 
hardly  recognize  the  graphic  descriptions  of  which 
we  had  just  been  through. 

Many  accounts  are  taken  from  sham  battles  or 
mock  wars  and  written  on  as  in  real  battles.  This 
perhaps  is  one  reason  why  these  accounts  receive 
such  high  polish  and  have  so  much  dash  about  them. 
There  appears  to  be  something  fascinating  about 
soldiers  and  war.  What  great  excitement  and  inter- 
est when  your  country  is  about  to  go  into  war  with 
another!  The  soldier  himself  becomes  very  much 
interested  and  appears  like  a  different  man,  but 
after  he  reaches  the  front  and  passes  through  a 
battle  or  so,  his  valor  cools  and  this  life  does  not  ap- 
pear so  fascinating  as  before. 

In  writing  of  army  experiences  one  is  often  mis- 
understood as  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  explain  the 
movements  and  life  of  soldiers  as  there  are  many  de- 
tails which  one  cannot  always  explain  properly.  In 
order  to  make  facts  plain  one  should  try  and  give  as 
true  an  account  as  possible.  In  this  I  shall  endeavor 
to  begin  with  my  life  as  a  recruit  and  go  through  my 
experience  of  six  years  as  nearly  as  possible  as  it  oc- 
curred. 


A    SQUAD  OF   SOLDIERS    WITH    LOG   TENTS    AND   CAMP   EQUIPMENT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MY  FIEST  GREAT   PARADE,   OE   THE   CAUSE   OP   MY  ENLIST- 
MENT IN  THE  AEMY. 

E  were  standing  on  one  of  the  principal 
streets  in  the  most  beautiful  city  that  I 
have  ever  been  in.  The  veterans  of  the 
Civil  War  were  holding  their  State  G. 
A.  E.  Encampment. 
This  day  they  were  having  their  military  parade, 
which  thousands  of  people  had  turned  out  to  witness. 
We  had  been  waiting  quite  awhile  and  were  grow- 
ing restless,  when  we  heard  the  cheers  farther  down 
the  street.  We  felt  certain  that  the  parade  had 
started.  Every  one  became  eager,  and  pressed  for- 
ward blockading  the  street;  and  as  the  parade  ap- 
proached we  were  pressed  back  by  a  platoon  of  civil 
police.  This  was  the  greatest  parade  I  had  ever  wit- 
nessed. I  was  very  much  disappointed  as  I  beheld 
this  mounted  squad  of  big  fat  fellows,  clearing  the 
street.  My  first  thoughts  were  if  these  are  soldiers, 
I  certainly  never  want  to  be  classed  as  such.  They 
were  all  mounted  upon  small  animals,  in  fact  very 
small.  Some  of  the  men  looked  larger  than  the  ani- 
mals. They  seemed  very  much  out  of  place  with 
their  large  stomachs  extending  forward  nearly  to 
the  horses'  ears.  They  looked  as  if  they  would  be 
more  at  home  riding  up  the  street  in  wheelbarrows. 
Perhaps  they  would  have  caused  less  comment  in 
traveling  this  way.  But  my  disappointment  was 
soon  to  disappear,  for  directly  behind  them  fol- 
lowed a  man  mounted  on  a  fine  steed.  The  at- 
mosphere seemed  to  clear  and  grow  brighter  as  he 
approached,  for  this  proved  to  be  the  commanding 
officer  of  the  Seventh  U.  S.  Infantry,  which  nearly 


10        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

all,  or  I  supposed  at  least  all,  had  turned  out  to  wit- 
ness, as  it  was  advertised  he  would  lead  the  parade 
on  this  great  day.  What  a  difference  in  men !  This 
man  sat  erect  on  his  steed.  The  animal  appeared  to 
be  electrified. 

The  man  seemed  perfectly  at  ease.  He  was  the 
leader  of  this  regiment  which  the  U.  S.  government 
had  seen  fit  to  place  in  that  position.  At  the  right 
and  left  were  his  aids  similarly  mounted.  They 
seemed  to  understand  every  action  or  move,  that  this 
man  made.  Directly  behind  them  came  the  military 
band.  The  drum  major,  its  leader,  with  his  baton 
which  he  hurled  through  the  air  directing  the  move- 
ments as  he  moved  forward  in  quick  time.  Behind 
them  came  the  companies  in  platoon  front,  filling  the 
streets  from  one  side  to  the  other.  What  a  wonder- 
ful contrast  to  our  platoon  of  police.  These  men 
were  arranged  in  height  from  right  to  left.  They 
looked  like  genuine  athletes,  broad  shouldered,  heads 
erect,  moving  straight  forward  and  looking  neither 
to  right  nor  left.  As  they  began  to  pass,  the  crowd 
appeared  electrified;  they  began  to  cheer  and  howl 
like  mad;  they  would  cry,  "here  are  the  boys  from 
Fort  Logan!"  This  regimental  organization  con- 
sisted of  eight  companies.  When  split  in  platoons 
making  a  grand  display  of  16  platoon  fronts. 

They  were  arrayed  in  full  dress;  blue  uniform, 
spiked  helmets  with  brass  trimmings,  white  Berlin 
gloves,  ammunition  belts  and  rifles  on  right  shoul- 
ders. They  moved  like  one  man.  This  was  my  first 
impression  of  the  U.  S.  soldier.  As  they  moved  by, 
directly  behind  them  came  two  troops  of  the  Second 
U.  S.  Cavalry.  These  were  mounted.  They  had 
fine  uniforms,  fine  mounts  all  arrayed  in  line,  but 
they  would  not  impress  you  like  the  infantry,  step- 
ping off  together  like  one  man. 

Behind  these  came  the  Civil  War  veterans,  old 
men  who  were  good  soldiers  in  their  young  days: 


THE  CAUSE  or  ENLISTMENT.  11 

but  they  certainly  did  not  make  the  appearance  that 
the  trained  men  did  who  were  leading  them  on  this 
parade.  They  reminded  one  of  childhood  days  when 
you  soldier  with  broom-stick  and  charge  on  fence 
posts  as  imaginary  foes. 

As  these  veterans  passed  by  in  sets  of  fours,  they 
received  their  share  of  applause ;  for  were  not  these 
the  heroes  of  former  days,  when  the  flag  which 
headed  this  procession  was  in  deadly  peril?  Could 
we  not  well  afford  to  cheer  the  men  who  fought  to 
uphold  our  nation  and  make  us  a  highly  respected 
power  in  the  world?  And  little  did  any  one  think 
at  this  time  that  in  a  short  period,  we  would  be  called 
to  defend  it  against  the  world  power.  These  veter- 
ans were  followed  by  the  state  organization  of 
militia.  They  were  led  by  their  commander.  These 
were  young  men  gathered  from  over  the  state.  They 
were  not  trained  or  drilled  but  were  men  of  every 
day  occupation.  Of  course  these  men  were  not  ex- 
pected to  make  the  fine  appearance  of  selected  men, 
who  were  hired  for  military  purposes,  and  whose  en- 
tire time  was  devoted  to  drill  in  military  discipline. 
But  this  fact  was  overlooked  by  the  populace  which 
had  gathered  here  this  day  to  witness  a  grand  pa- 
rade. As  they  passed  by  in  platoon  front  the  people 
would  hoot  and  shout, ' '  Tin  Soldier ! "  "  Soldier,  will 
you  work  and  step ! ' ' 

Were  not  these  remarks  ill-placed?  As  these 
young  men  were  working  and  trying  to  fill  a  mil- 
itary position  at  the  same  time,  therefore  they 
should  have  received  as  great  applause  as  any.  But 
people  who  are  out  for  a  holiday  and  are  excited  ap- 
pear to  forget  these  facts. 

Of  course  these  men  may  have  put  on  airs  and 
tried  to  make  themselves  look  great,  but  when  called 
upon  later,  they  were  ready  to  serve  their  country. 

This  parade,  or  the  part  which  I  witnessed,  was 
the  real  cause  of  my  presence  on  board  a  train  a  few 


12         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

weeks  later  bound  for  Fort  Logan.  Here  I  arrived 
some  time  in  the  forenoon,  at  a  little  station  of  the 
Rio  Grande  E.  R.  I  felt  very  tired  and  backward  as 
I  stepped  on  the  platform ;  and  looking  across  to  my 
left  toward  the  barracks,  I  saw  boys  in  blue  drilling. 
At  first  I  felt  afraid  to  approach  the  reservation  and 
walking  in  the  opposite  direction  for  a  short  dis- 
tance, I  came  to  a  small  cigar  store.  I  ventured  in- 
side and  as  the  day  was  warm,  I  called  for  a  drink  of 
soda.  I  noticed  this  man  who  waited  upon  me  had 
that  erect  posture,  and  thought  that  perhaps  he  had 
been  in  the  military  service.  I  began  to  make  in- 
quiry and  found  that  I  was  correct  in  my  surmise. 
So  I  questioned  him  in  regard  to  the  proper  way  to 
approach  as  an  applicant  for  service.  He  gave  me 
the  desired  information  and  directed  me  to  the  head- 
quarters building,  from  which  we  were  only  a  short 
distance.  I  approached  this  building  along  a  double 
street,  with  a  walk  in  the  center  up  a  gradual  slope, 
with  great  timidity.  As  I  neared  the  headquarters 
my  heart  jumped  and  thumped,  and  I  suppose  as  I 
placed  my  foot  on  the  first  step,  if  some  one  should 
have  shouted  I  would  have  run,  but  this  did  not  hap- 
pen. And  as  I  walked  up  the  steps,  and  made  my 
wishes  known,  I  was  shown  into  the  office  of  the  Reg- 
imental Sergeant  Major,  where  he  inquired  as  to  my 
business  tnere,  and  I  informed  him  that  I  wished  to 
enlist  in  the  regular  army.  He  made  out  my  appli- 
cation blanks  and  sent  me  to  the  quarters  of  Com- 
pany E,  where  I  was  to  remain  on  probation  for  a 
few  days,  until  I  decided  fully  that  I  was  in  earnest 
about  my  intentions.  This  gave  me  an  opportunity 
to  observe  and  study  the  ways  and  life  of  enlisted 
men,  before  I  actually  became  a  soldier.  Fort  Lo- 
gan is  situated  in  one  of  the  finest  locations  for  a 
barracks  that  it  has  ever  been  my  good  fortune  to  be- 
hold. The  fort  is  located  about  twelve  miles  south- 
west of  Denver — the  altitude  being  about  eight  thou- 


ARMY    BICYCLE    RIDERS     WITH     FIELD    EQUIPMENT. 


THE  CAUSE  OP  ENLISTMENT.  13 

sand  feet  above  sea  level.  Off  to  the  west  lie  the 
Rocky  Mountains — a  long  range  extending  north 
and  south.  To  the  northwest  lies  Gray's  Peak,  with 
the  point  extending  far  above  the  principal  range. 
Farther  to  the  north  is  Long's  Peak,  which  rises  yet 
higher  than  the  former.  These  two  points  can  be 
observed  during  any  season  of  the  year,  appearing 
in  the  distance  like  two  venerable  white  capped 
dames.  Twelve  miles  westward  lie  the  low  foot 
hills,  covered  by  a  growth  of  pines,  cedars,  and  sage, 
so  called  because  these  must  be  crossed  before  the 
main  range  can  be  reached. 

At  this  altitude  the  atmosphere  is  so  pure  and 
clear,  that  travelers  from  the  east  will  look  across  to 
the  foot  hills  and  remark  that  they  will  take  a  walk 
over  to  observe  them,  and  return  before  breakfast; 
which  causes  the  resident  to  quietly  smile  and  say 
nothing.  For  when  you  consider  the  distance  of 
twelve  miles  there  and  return,  a  good  day's  journey 
on  foot,  one  suddenly  feels  that  some  other  form  of 
exercise  will  suffice  for  the  morning.  The  clear  pure 
air  has  only  magnified  the  objects  around,  causing 
them  to  appear  very  near.  Pike's  Peak  may  be  ob- 
served from  Denver  at  a  distance  of  75  miles.  East 
of  Fort  Logan  and  down  a  gradual  slope  flows  the 
Platte  River.  Following  this  river  southward  to- 
ward its  source  for  some  distance  will  bring  you  to 
the  Platte  Canon,  which  is  south  of  Fort  Logan. 
Northward  flows  Bear  Creek,  which  empties  into  the 
Platte  northeast  of  the  barracks,  or  towards  Denver. 
The  beds  of  these  streams  are  almost  dry  in  the  sum- 
mer season,  on  account  of  irrigation  they  afford  to 
the  surrounding  region.  Following  Bear  Creek 
westward  toward  its  source  for  twelve  or  fifteen 
miles  will  bring  one  to  Bear  Creek  Canon.  At  the 
entrance  to  this  canon  is  situated  the  village  of 
Morrison.  To  the  north  of  Morrison  is  the  Hog 
Back,  a  small  rocky  hill  which  derives  its  name  from 


14        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

its  shape — which  is  that  of  a  hog's  back.  South  of 
the  village  and  across  the  canon  is  the  entrance  to 
the  Garden  of  the  Angels.  This  garden  or  park  is 
filled  with  rocks  which  resemble  monuments.  On 
some  of  these  can  be  traced  characters  that  re- 
semble men,  birds  and  animals.  Here,  those  who 
love  nature  spend  hours,  tracing  these  lines — na- 
ture's gifts — intended  for  the  admiration  of  all;  but 
are  only  seen  and  appreciated  by  those  who  love 
nature  and  to  whom  her  secrets  have  been  revealed. 
As  you  advance  westward  through  Bear  Creek 
Canon  admiration  increases  at  the  beautiful  and 
perfect  walls  of  the  canon.  To  the  right  of  the 
canon  a  roadway  has  been  constructed  over  which 
one  may  travel  westward  across  the  main  range  into 
the  heart  of  the  Rockies.  Then  as  you  look  north- 
ward from  Fort  Logan  you  observe  Loretta's 
Heights  from  which  can  be  seen  Loretta's  Sisters' 
Convent,  which  is  slightly  above  Fort  Logan  in  ele- 
vation. This  is  an  immense  building  where  girls 
are  trained  for  service  as  Sisters  and  Nuns.  This  is 
a  peaceful  but  solitary  spot  for  this  institution.  An 
attempt  to  elope  with  one  of  the  inmates  would  in- 
variably prove  disastrous,  for  from  this  point  one 
has  a  view  of  the  surrounding  country  for  miles  in 
every  direction,  making  escape  difficult  if  so  desired 
by  its  inmates.  Farther  east  and  across  the  Platte 
as  far  as  eye  can  see,  stretch  miles  of  prairie.  A 
part  of  this  section  is  irrigated  and  farming  is  car- 
ried on  in  these  places.  Southeast  and  beyond  the 
Platte  is  the  village  of  Littleton  which  is  situated  on 
the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  railway.  This  is  three 
and  one-half  miles  from  the  Fort.  Fort  Logan  is 
situated  on  a  high  knoll  which  slopes  gradually 
downward  to  the  north,  east  and  south.  To  the 
westward  are  the  foot  hills  which  give  rise  to  gentle 
descent  of  the  ground  until  these  are  reached.  This 
position  gives  almost  perfect  sanitary  conditions. 


THE  CAUSE  OF  ENLISTMENT.  15 

The  officers'  quarters  are  built  in  the  shape  of  a 
horse  shoe.  The  commanding  officers'  quarters  are 
situated  in  the  bend  of  the  shoe,  from  which  place 
every  point  of  the  reservation  can  be  observed. 
The  southern  point  of  the  shoe  extends  farther 
east,  and  on  this  line  are  built  the  infantry  bar- 
racks. The  cavalry  barracks  are  built  in  the  bend 
alongside  the  officers'  quarters.  In  line  with  north- 
ern point  of  shoe,  and  extending  east  are  guard 
house  and  headquarters  building,  which  figure  in 
equal  proportions.  Just  north  of  the  fort  in  the 
Bear  Creek  valley  and  just  outside  the  reserva- 
tion, lies  the  little  village  of  Logantown,  between 
a  branch  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  a  branch  of 
the  Denver,  Leadville  &  Gunnison  railways.  The 
former  terminating  at  Fort  Logan,  the  latter  at 
Morrison.  About  one  mile  east  on  the  Rio  Grande 
is  situated  Military  Park.  On  the  Gunnison  line, 
Sheridan  Park,  where  the  residents  of  Denver  hold 
their  picnics  and  summer  amusements  of  all  descrip- 
tions. These  parks  are  not  very  satisfactory  places 
of  amusement  on  account  of  beer  gardens,  and  dance 
halls,  which  often  cause  rough  fights  between  sol- 
diers and  civilians ;  but  it  seems  that  almost  all  mil- 
itary posts  have  such  places  near  them.  Here  in 
this  place  of  which  I  have  given  you  rather  a  tedious 
description,  I  was  destined  to  become  an  American 
soldier.  For  after  due  consideration,  during  my 
five  days  probation,  and  a  thorough  examination  by 
the  medical  department  to  ascertain  my  condition 
physically,  my  proportions  were  given  as  six  feet 
and  one-half  inch  in  height,  weight  one  hundred 
and  sixty-nine  pounds,  void  of  all  clothing,  dark  hair 
and  dark  complexion.  Therefore  on  the  fifth  of 
May,  1896, 1  was  sworn  into  the  service  of  the  U.  S. 
Army  for  the  period  of  three  years. 


A    CHAMPION    ARMY   BICYCLIST. 


CHAPTER  II. 


A  KECKUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN  OB  TWO  YEARS   SEEVICE  IN 

COLORADO. 


WAS  now  just  a  newly  enlisted  soldier 
for  a  term  of  three  years.  I  began  to 
pay  attention  and  observe  the  manner 
of  those  around  me, — later  my  comrades. 
I  seemed  like  a  child  looking  up  to  these 
men  who  stepped  with  quick,  active  and  agile  move- 
ments; but  I,  myself  was  a  big  awkward  and  over- 
grown youth.  I  was  tall  and  stooped;  I  imagined 
my  feet  and  my  hands  were  too  large.  I  noticed 
that  the  men  held  aloof.  They  were  not  at  all  so- 
ciable, and  regarded  me  as  any  other  "rukie"  who 
must  undergo  all  the  tortures  of  learning  discipline 
and  drill. 

As  my  first  day  wore  on  I  became  nervous  and  felt 
like  a  fish  out  of  water.  It  seemed  to  me  at  this  time 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  learn  the  drill  and  de- 
velop physically  so  I  could  ever  look  or  act  in  any 
way  like  these  men.  I  was  soon  dubbed  Shorty. 
Some  of  the  men  had  read  Si  Klegg  and  Shorty  and 
of  course  as  I  was  a  tall  man  like  this  character  I 
received  the  same  name.  My  sleeping  apparatus 
was  issued  to  me ;  it  consisted  of  one  iron  bunk,  a  set 
of  springs,  a  mattress,  mattress  cover,  and  pillow 
slips. 

As  I  could  not  draw  clothing  just  at  this  time  a 
comrade  loaned  to  me  a  few  blankets  under  which  to 
sleep  until  the  requisitions  were  made  out  and  sent 
into  the  clothing  department,  for  regular  issue.  My 
sleeping  quarters  were  in  the  south  squad  room. 
This  was  to  be  occupied  by  myself  in  company  with 
thirty  other  men,  until  further  instructions  were  re- 


18         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

ceived.  These  quarters  were  built  of  brick,  and 
were  very  neat  and  comfortable.  The  rooms  ex- 
tended north  and  south,  with  a  line  of  bunks  on  each 
side;  the  heads  against  wall,  and  foot  of  bunks  to- 
ward center.  I  was  placed  in  center  of  row.  On 
one  side  my  bunk-mate  or  "bunkie"  as  they  were 
called — was  a  tall  young  Irishman.  On  the  other 
side  a  much  smaller  man  who  was  an  American;  I 
soon  became  acquainted  with  these  two.  In  a  day  or 
two  another  man  enlisted  and  of  course  the  new 
"Rukie"  and  I  became  friends  at  once.  A  few  days 
later  the  captain  of  our  company,  a  very  kind 
hearted  and  fatherly  old  gentleman,  called  us  into 
the  orderly  room,  which  was  in  the  front  end  of  the 
barracks  and  gave  us  a  long  talk  on  the  situation  we 
now  had  to  confront.  He  explained  to  us  his  posi- 
tion as  captain,  of  his  two  subordinates — first  and 
second  lieutenants,  that  these  men  who  were  grad- 
uates of  the  military  academy,  had  received  their 
commissions  from  the  president,  and  that  they  must 
be  obeyed.  And  that  all  men  with  commissions  from 
the  president,  in  every  branch  of  service,  must  be 
saluted  when  recognized  by  the  mark  or  bars  placed 
on  each  shoulder;  that  when  in  a  building  or  under 
roof,  we  must  remove  the  hat  in  their  presence,  stand 
erect,  and  allow  them  to  pass.  This  was  a  novel  ex- 
ercise to  us  at  first,  and  the  captain  ordered  us  to  re- 
move hats  and  stand  erect  in  his  presence.  Then  he 
praised  our  efforts  and  furthermore  instructed  us 
concerning  our  relations  with  the  men.  If  they  tor- 
mented, or  teased  us  or  tried  to  get  us  into  trouble 
we  were  told  to  report  to  him,  and  never  think  of 
walking  off  or  deserting,  as  that  would  be  a  blot  on 
our  character  the  remainder  of  our  days,  and  we 
would  thereby  lose  the  right  of  citizenship.  This 
was  indeed  good  advice,  and  later  I  was  thankful  for 
the  valuable  information  the  captain  gave  us.  In 
our  company  the  first  sergeant  held  first  place  in  the 


A  RECRUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  19 

company  after  commissioned  officers.  Next  were 
four  duty  sergeants,  then  four  corporals,  who  ranked 
next  to  the  duty  sergeants.  The  companies  were  or- 
ganized in  battalions,  consisting  of  four  companies 
each;  three  battalions  to  each  regiment.  At  that 
tune  each  regiment  lacked  one  battalion.  Therefore 
each  regiment  had  but  eight  companies.  Cavalry 
regiments  were  complete;  each  one  consisted  of 
twelve  troops.  Our  commanding  officer,  the  Colonel, 
had  command  of  all  troops  stationed  in  this  garri- 
son. 

Next  in  regular  order  came  the  lieutenant  colonel, 
majors,  captains  and  lieutenants.  Non-commis- 
sioned officers  were  sergeant  majors,  both  regi- 
mental and  battalion;  then  first  sergeant,  duty  ser- 
geants and  corporals.  These  non-commissioned  of- 
ficers received  warrants"  issued  by  the  command- 
ing officer  on  recommendation  of  company  com- 
manders; it  was  their  duty  to  see  that  all  orders 
received  from  company  commanders  through  first 
sergeant  were  obeyed.  Just  at  this  point  it  is  well 
to  consider  the  arrangement  of  the  different 
branches  of  the  U.  S.  Army.  First  in  rank  is  the 
corps  of  engineers.  Officers  graduating  at  the  head 
of  their  class  are  assigned  for  duty  in  this  branch 
of  the  service.  At  that  time  this  branch  of  the 
service  consisted  of  one  battalion  only,  being  formed 
in  companies,  the  same  as  infantry.  It  is  their  duty 
to  build  field  fortifications,  intrenchments,  bridges, 
pontoon  bridges,  river  ferries,  and  roads  to  trans- 
port supplies  to  the  front  in  case  of  war. 

This  branch  is  considered  superior  to  any  other 
in  the  army.  Next  the  Ordnance  Department,  which 
guards  arsenals  and  has  charge  of  all  heavy  ord- 
nance of  ammunition.  Next  in  line,  the  artillery, 
both  heavy  and  light.  At  the  time  of  my  service 
they  were  divided  into  coast  batteries  which  handled 
heavy  pieces,  and  the  light,  which  handled  field 


20         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

pieces  drawn  by  horses.  Next  came  the  cavalry 
which  was  then  ten  regiments  strong;  and  numbers 
nine  and  ten  were  colored.  Last  the  infantry  which 
consisted  of  twenty-five  regiments, — numbers  twen- 
ty-four and  five  were  colored.  The  regiments  are 
made  up  of  company  organizations,  twelve  com- 
panies to  each  regiment.  Companies  are  given 
names  of  letters  of  the  alphabet,  beginning  with  A, 
ending  with  M,  excluding  the  letter  J.  Each  com- 
pany consists  of  one  hundred  men.  In  tune  of  peace 
four  companies  are  blank  and  each  regiment  con- 
tains but  eight  companies.  In  time  of  war  the  in- 
fantry is  considered  the  backbone  of  the  army. 
These  men  are  armed  and  equipped  with  rifles,  bayo- 
nets and  ammunition  belts.  The  cavalry  are  armed 
with  carbines  which  are  carried  in  a  leather  pocket 
attached  to  the  saddle,  ammunition  belts,  pistols 
which  are  buckled  to  the  right  side,  and  long  sabres, 
which  are  buckled  at  the  left  side.  This  branch  of 
the  service  is  considered  especially  hard,  as  these 
men  have  saddles,  lariats  and  horses  to  care  for. 
Men  in  all  branches  of  the  service  are  equipped  with 
haversacks,  canteens,  knife,  fork,  spoon  and  mess 
kit;  the  last  consists  of  a  double  pan,  whose  handle 
crosses  over  the  top  and  hooks  top  and  bottom  part 
together.  When  taken  apart  one  pan  may  be  used 
to  fry  articles  of  food,  the  other  as  a  receptacle  for 
articles  of  food.  Each  man  also  receives  a  shelter 
half  or  half  tent,  one  end  of  which  has  a  flap  and 
button,  so  that  two  men  placing  halves  together  can 
form  a  tent.  These  are  called  "dog  tents"  or 
"pup"  tents  by  the  soldiers,  on  account  of  being  so 
small.  Each  man  also  carries  a  tent  pole  which  con- 
sists of  two  sections  so  when  placed  together  in 
center  with  a  tin  rim  they- form  a  pole  about  four  feet 
long.  This  is  fastened  in  center  with  guy  lines,  and 
each  of  the  four  corners  of  tent  are  fastened  with 
iron  pins.  The  flaps  on  one  end  are  then  buttoned 


A  RECRUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  21 

together  which  forms  back  of  tent.  These  are  used 
in  time  of  war  when  men  must  carry  their  rations, 
sleeping  apartments  and  cooking  outfits.  Each  one 
is  held  responsible  for  these  articles,  and  if  lost 
through  neglect  or  carelessness,  a  certain  amount  is 
deducted  from  the  pay  which  is  thirteen  dollars  per 
month,  except  in  case  of  re-enlistment,  when  the  pay 
is  increased  for  the  purpose  of  retaining  experienced 
men. 

Non-commissioned  officers  also  receive  extra  pay 
for  filling  positions  they  hold.  Clothing  which  is 
always  of  first-class  material,  consists  of  blouse, 
trousers,  underwear,  shirts,  blankets,  socks,  rubber 
ponchos,  shoes  and  leggings,  overcoats,  fur  caps, 
gauntlets  (for  cold  climates),  full  dress  coat  and 
helmet  for  parade,  campaign  hats  and  white  gloves 
for  garrison,  fatigue  clothes,  overalls  and  blouses 
for  working  purposes.  These  articles  are  issued  to 
the  men  as  needed.  The  government  makes  a  cloth- 
ing allowance  for  each  man  at  a  certain  rate  per  an- 
num, at  cost  price  for  clothing.  When  a  man  over- 
draws this  allowance,  the  amount  overdrawn  is  de- 
ducted from  his  pay.  What  he  saves  on  this  allow- 
ance he  receives  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
service.  It  is  to  one's  interest  then,  to  be  careful 
with  his  clothing.  The  quartermaster  department 
has  charge  of  these  articles,  also  of  the  fuel,  picks, 
shovels  and  mules  and  wagons,  for  transportation. 
Each  regiment  has  a  quartermaster  department 
which  draws  from  the  general  quartermaster  depart- 
ment. The  commissary  department  supplies  ra- 
tions, of  which  each  man  receives  his  allotment. 
This  consists  of  flour  or  bread,  potatoes,  fresh  meat, 
salt  pork,  beans,  onions,  fish  or  salmon,  dried  fruits, 
such  as  prunes  and  apples,  tomatoes,  coffee,  sugar, 
vinegar,  and  "hardtack"  or  crackers.  Field  ra- 
tions are  not  issued  in  as  large  a  quantity  as  gar- 
rison. The  field  rations  consist  of  hardtack,  canned 


22        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

tomatoes,  corned  beef  or  bacon,  beans,  coffee,  sugar, 
salmon  and  dried  fruits.  There  is  also  an  emer- 
gency ration  for  field  service — meat  and  vegetables 
in  one  compound,  which  are  placed  in  packages. 

In  each  garrison  is  found  a  post  hospital.  This 
has  splendid  buildings  well  regulated  and  in  charge 
of  the  medical  department  of  the  army.  In  field 
service  they  are  known  as  field  hospitals ;  the  nurses 
are  enlisted  men.  The  officers  rank  as  colonel  doc- 
tors, major  doctors  and  captain  doctors ;  the  chief  of 
the  department  is  a  general.  The  non-commissioned 
staff  rank  as  first  steward,  second  steward  and  as- 
sistant steward.  The  nurses  or  enlisted  men  receive 
five  dollars  more  per  month  than  the  men  of  the  line. 

Then  there  is  the  Signal  Department;  the  men  of 
this  part  of  the  service  are  enlisted  telegraphers. 
They  have  charge  of  balloons  and  have  codes  of  sig- 
nal, such  as  heliograph,  flags,  and  different  colored 
lights  for  night  signaling.  They  also  have  charge 
of  telegraph  and  telephone  lines,  as  used  by  the 
army.  They,  also,  are  organized  in  companies,  their 
method  of  procedure  being  the  same  as  that  of  other 
branches  of  the  service.  The  army  as  a  whole  or  as 
a  military  body,  has  a  commanding  general  or  chief 
of  staff.  His  assistants  are  major  and  brigadier 
generals,  who  rank  as  commanders  of  departments, 
divisions  and  brigades.  Everything  is  done  system- 
atically and  according  to  rank,  from  commanding 
general  down  to  the  private  in  the  rear  rank.  It  is 
necessary  for  red  tape  in  every  department,  for  no 
good  results  would  be  reached  if  all  did  not  work  as 
one. 

We  had  been  to  the  canteen  or  post  exchange  and 
purchased  towels,  soap  and  other  toilet  articles ;  for 
these  do  not  come  under  the  government  issue,  as 
such  articles  as  these  together  with  tobacco,  and 
cigars  are  considered  as  luxuries,  and  the  govern- 
ment supplies  only  articles  of  necessity.  I  also  pur- 


A  RECRUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  23 

chased  a  wash  basin,  but  this  article  proved  to  be  a 
poor  investment.  I  took  my  purchases  to  the  quar- 
ters and  placed  the  basin  under  the  head  of  my  bunk, 
the  springs  of  which  fastened  with  a  sort  of  hook, 
for  convenience,  in  case  one  wishes  to  remove  them. 
I  then  left  the  quarters  for  a  few  minutes  and  on  my 
return,  decided  to  spread  my  blankets  out  and  rest 
a  while,  as  it  was  in  the  evening.  Some  one  had 
carefully  slipped  the  front  end  of  the  springs  away 
from  the  head  of  the  bunk,  and  of  course  when  I 
threw  myself  on  the  bed  I  went  on  down  to  the  floor, 
turning  mattress  and  springs  over  on  top  of  me. 
My  basin  was  under  front  end  of  the  bunk  and  was 
caught  by  the  springs,  doubling  its  sides  together. 
Of  course  all  began  to  shout  and  laugh  and  I  found 
that  the  best  thing  for  me  to  do  was  to  laugh  too. 
So  I  straightened  things  out  and  lay  down.  This 
joke  I  found  later  on  was  practiced  upon  every 
"R-ukie"  who  came  to  the  company.  It  never  hurt 
any  one  and  yet  caused  quite  a  lot  of  amusement. 
I  was  never  caught  in  that  way  again,  for  I  was 
always  careful  thereafter  to  examine  my  bunk  be- 
fore lying  down.  Several  more  recruits  were  soon 
added  to  the  list,  and  clothing,  rifles  and  full  equip- 
ments were  soon  issued. 

The  daily  routine  of  garrison  duty  was  planned 
monthly,  and  now  we  were  being  gradually  in- 
structed in  this.  Our  first  sergeant  ordered  us  to 
report  to  the  drill  sergeant.  This  man  had  been  in 
the  service  thirty  years.  He  was  a  splendid  looking 
soldier.  We  now  had  our  uniforms  and  of  course 
one  could  see  at  first  glance  that  we  were  unfamiliar 
with  the  drill.  My  uniform  fit  me  in  no  wise  except 
the  cap.  Our  drill  instructor  marched  us  outside 
for  our  first  lesson.  I  was  almost  a  head  taller  than 
my  companions,  and  was  placed  on  the  right  of  the 
squad.  There  were  four  of  us  in  this  squad.  I  had 
no  idea  as  to  my  companions'  feelings,  but  for  my- 


24        ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

self,  I  felt  exceedingly  awkward  and  uncomfortable, 
as  he  tried  to  place  us  in  correct  position ;  standing 
with  body  erect  and  resting  evenly  on  both  hips, 
slightly  inclined  forward,  head  erect,  eyes  straight 
to  the  front,  arms  hanging  naturally  at  the  sides, 
little  fingers  touching  opposite  seams  on  trousers, 
heels  together,  and  toes  turned  outward  at  an  angle 
of  forty-five  degrees.  Our  company  had  not  turned 
out  yet  for  regular  drill,  so  the  boys  were  nearly  all 
spectators  that  day.  He  then  placed  us  about  two 
paces  apart  to  instruct  us  in  physical  culture  drill. 
We  swung  our  arms  to  front,  then  to  rear,  raised 
legs  up,  then  down,  arms  horizontal  to  front,  then 
again  to  rear.  These  movements  were  easy  to  ac- 
complish, and  we  got  along  well  in  the  first  part  of 
our  drill.  Then  he  began  on  the  facings, — right 
face,  left  face,  about  face.  It  was  then  my  trouble 
began.  I  was  very  awkward,  and  when  he  gave  com- 
mand about  face,  I  pitched  forward,  almost  landing 
on  my  face.  My  instructor  was  very  patient  at  first 
and  succeeded  in  getting  me  in  correct  position  again 
for  another  trial.  My  next  attempt  was  even  worse 
than  the  first.  He  stood  it  for  some  time  but  soon 
began  to  lose  patience  at  my  unsuccessful  attempts. 
Of  course  the  spectators  all  laughed,  and  this  seemed 
to  irritate  him  the  more.  He  scowled  at  me  and 
finally  exclaimed:  "Well,  you  are  one  of  the  most 
awkward  monkeys  I  have  ever  seen.  You  stand 
there  all  twisted  up  like  a  cork  screw!"  This  was 
very  amusing  to  the  rest,  but  the  humor  of  it  did  not 
reach  me.  I  blushed  furiously  but  went  on,  trying 
to  execute  the  drill  as  he  directed.  Soon  the  clear 
notes  of  the  bugle  fell  on  the  still  air,  and  we  were 
relieved  of  the  presence  of  our  amused  spectators,  as 
that  was  the  call  for  the  company  to  fall  in  for  drill. 
I  felt  very  grateful,  and  no  doubt  my  companions  ex- 
perienced the  same  feeling,  and  our  "rukie"  drill 
continued,  more  satisfactorily  to  myself  at  least.  As 


ELEPHANT   ROCK. 


A  RECRUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  25 

time  went  on  I  began  to  observe  more  closely  and  by 
the  time  we  finished  our  two  hours  recruit  drill,  I 
began  to  learn  something  of  the  movements,  and  had 
a  little  more  confidence  in  my  ability  to  perform 
them.  We  were  then  dismissed  until  the  afternoon, 
when  we  were  to  have  two  hours  more  of  drill.  It 
went  on  in  this  way  for  a  week  or  more — we  were 
drilled  in  physical  culture  or  setting  up  drill. 

Our  meals  here  in  the  barracks  were  first-class,  as 
we  had  a  splendid  cook  and  were  regularly  served  in 
a  large  dining  room.  We  breakfasted  promptly  at 
6:30,  dinner  was  served  at  12:00,  supper  at  5:30. 
The  bugler  who  was  on  guard  duty  gave  us  the  right 
signal  at  exactly  the  right  minute,  no  one  being  al- 
lowed in  the  dining  room  or  kitchen  before  or  after 
meal  time,  except  those  who  were  detailed  for  duty 
there,  as  waiters  or  assistants  in  the  kitchen.  These 
were  detailed  by  our  first  sergeant  and  worked  under 
the  instructions  of  first  cook.  I  was  informed  one 
evening  as  we  fell  in  for  retreat,  that  I  was  detailed 
as  kitchen  police  for  the  next  day.  I  had  no  definite 
idea  of  what  the  term  kitchen  police  meant,  but 
thought  that  probably  my  duties  were  similar  to 
those  of  a  regular  policeman.  Next  morning  I  re- 
ported to  the  cook  and  he  soon  explained  clearly  the 
duties  I  must  perform.  I  rolled  up  my  sleeves  and 
set  to  work  washing  pans  and  dishes,  which  occu- 
pied my  attention  for  about  two  hours.  Then  I 
pared  potatoes  and  onions;  next  I  scrubbed,  filling 
in  the  remainder  of  the  day  with  duties  one  will  find 
about  any  ordinary  kitchen. 

It  was  now  nearing  the  last  of  May  and  in  the 
early  part  of  June  we  were  to  have  a  field  day.  Com- 
petition by  the  different  companies  in  all  athletic 
sports  was  then  to  take  place.  Immediately  after 
field  day,  which  was  to  be  on  Saturday,  the  battalion 
to  which  our  company  belonged  was  to  start  on  prac- 
tice march  to  Colorado  Springs,  and  remain  in  field 


26        ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

there  for  six  weeks  for  target  practice.  We 
"rukies"  were  progressing  very  rapidly  now  in  our 
drill  and  looked  forward  with  great  anticipation  to 
these  events,  which  are  welcomed  with  great  pleas- 
ure by  all  the  men,  as  it  breaks  the  monotony  of  gar- 
rison duty,  which  grows  so  tiresome  to  the  older  men 
who  have  seen  service  and  want  a  change.  Of 
course  this  was  all  new  life  to  us  so  we  did  not  real- 
ize what  it  meant  to  the  greater  portion  of  our  com- 
pany. 

As  we  became  better  acquainted  with  the  men  we 
began  to  observe  their  character  and  dispositions. 
About  half  of  our  company  were  Americans;  the 
other  half  was  made  up  of  Germans,  Irishmen,  En- 
glishmen, Welshmen,  Norwegians  and  Swedes.  Of 
course  these  were  all  either  citizens  or  had  declared 
their  intention  to  become  such,  or  they  could  not 
have  entered  the  army.  This  element  of  the  com- 
pany seemed  to  be  the  most  dissatisfied.  They 
grumbled,  complained  and  cursed  when  things  dis- 
pleased them.  Of  course  some  of  the  Americans  did 
the  same  thing.  There  were  divisions  among  the 
men  in  the  company.  Those  who  drank  sought  that 
kind  of  company  among  the  men  of  the  regiment. 
Those  who  liked  athletics  and  exercise  mingled  to- 
gether. Those  who  were  lazy  and  cared  for  nothing 
but  ease  were  classed  together.  When  going  for  a 
stroll,  they  were  seldom  seen  going  alone,  but  usu- 
ally in  groups.  To  men  not  familiar  with  this  sort 
of  life  these  things  seemed  much  more  prominent. 
We  had  now  been  with  the  regiment  long  enough  to 
learn  both  company  and  individual  duties.  Most 
duties  were  announced  by  calls  of  buglers  or  trum- 
peters. Each  company  had  two  of  these  musicians. 

We  also  had  a  regimental  band  which  consisted  of 
thirty  members,  who  when  they  chose  were  able  to 
furnish  us  with  excellent  music.  Every  morning  we 
were  awakened  by  first  call  of  the  bugle,  followed  in 


A  EECEUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  27 

order  by  reveille  and  assembly;  the  last  named,  of 
which  was  meant  for  all  members  of  each  company 
to  fall  in  to  answer  roll  call.  Then  we  opened  ranks, 
took  our  distance  and  for  fifteen  minutes  executed  a 
drill  in  physical  culture.  This  was  followed  by  mess 
call ;  that  by  sick  call.  All  who  were  sick,  had  their 
names  placed  on  the  sick  report  and  a  non-commis- 
sioned officer  went  through  the  quarters  asking  if 
there  were  any  who  wished  to  go.  Then  he  would 
call  out ' '  sick,  lame  and  lazy, ' '  and  start  for  the  hos- 
pital where  those  who  were  indisposed  were  exam- 
ined by  the  doctor.  If  they  were  seriously  ill  they 
were  placed  in  the  hospital  and  treated.  Those  who 
had  a  sprain  or  other  slight  ailment  were  excused 
from  all  duties,  and  marked  "quarters."  Those 
that  only  pretended  illness  were  marked  "duty," 
and  sent  back  to  perform  them.  Men  oftentimes 
were  out  "for  a  time,"  as  they  called  it  and  of  course 
on  return  felt  the  result  of  their  imprudence.  They 
would  sometimes  try  to  "beat"  the  sick  report  and 
the  doctor  was  compelled  to  watch  keenly  for  these 
fellows.  Our  next  call  was  fatigue;  this  was  for 
those  who  were  detailed  for  such  duties  as  hauling 
wood,  unloading  coal,  etc.  Usually  these  men  ap- 
peared with  very  long  and  sober  faces,  as  this  was 
distasteful  to  most  of  them. 

Then  came  drill,  and  the  old  men  in  the  service, 
who  had  gone  through  this  day  after  day,  and  year 
after  year,  would  grumble  not  a  little  when  the  time 
came  for  this.  But  after  all  they  seemed  to  be  at- 
tached to  the  life  for  some  had  been  in  the  service  for 
almost  thirty  years.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time 
they  can  retire  from  the  service  on  three-fourths  of 
regular  pay  and  allowances.  After  drill  we  had  re- 
call from  drill  which  gladdened  the  hearts  of  the 
boys,  for  after  being  dismissed  they  could  be  seen 
going  into  quarters  with  happy  faces,  for  the  drill 
for  that  day  was  ended.  The  next  call  was  for  guard 


28        ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

mount ;  this  guard  duty  is  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  as 
in  time  of  war.  This  duty  which  must  be  done  con- 
stantly, consists  in  walking  post  or  guarding  men, 
who  have  been  fined  and  sentenced  to  imprisonment 
for  disobeying  orders,  or  for  some  breach  of  military 
discipline.  Men  who  have  found  military  life  dis- 
tasteful, sometimes  desert,  and  if  captured  are  sen- 
tenced to  imprisonment  for  terms  of  from  one  to  five 
years,  and  hard  labor.  This  guard  duty  is  con- 
ducted by  an  officer  of  the  day,  who  is  commander  of 
the  guard.  Officer  of  the  guard  then  executes  and 
sees  that  all  of  his  instructions  are  obeyed.  Ser- 
geant of  the  guard  and  corporals,  divide  the  guard 
and  allot  the  men  their  duties.  Guard  duty  is  car- 
ried on  strictly  and  a  display  is  made  of  guard 
mount.  Men  before  being  passed  for  guard  mount 
must  foe  neat,  clean  and  respectable,  their  arms  in 
perfect  condition.  The  neatest,  cleanest,  best  look- 
ing member  is  chosen  as  orderly  for  the  commanding 
officer.  There  is  much  competition  for  this  duty  as 
it  is  considered  the  easiest  part  of  guard  duty. 
After  guard  mount  we  had  recall  from  fatigue,  then 
mess  call  for  dinner. 

The  afternoons  were  usually  free  from  duties  ex- 
cept once  or  twice  a  week  when  we  had  parade,  if 
the  weather  permitted.  We  next  had  first  call  for 
retreat,  assembly  and  roll  call,  then  retreat.  The 
men  are  formed  at  parade  rest,  the  gun  is  fired,  the 
flag  is  hauled  down  while  the  band  plays  the  Star 
Spangled  Banned,  and  the  day's  duties  are  over. 
Next  is  mess  call  for  supper,  then  tattoo  which 
means  lights  out  in  sleeping  quarters.  Our  last  call 
was  taps;  all  members  who  were  not  in  bed  at  that 
time  were  reported  absent  to  the  officer  of  the  day 
and  later  to  their  company  commanders.  Men 
who  desire  a  leave  of  absence  must  secure  a  pass 
signed  by  the  commanding  officer  and  company  com- 
mander. 


A  RECRUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  29 

This  is  the  daily  routine  of  garrison  life,  which 
was  followed  at  the  Fort,  except  Saturday,  when  we 
had  inspection.  Every  part  of  the  quarters  and 
every  part  of  our  equipment  were  thoroughly  in- 
spected by  our  company  commanders ;  and  if  not  in 
first-class  condition  we  received  a  reprimand.  That 
was  the  only  duty  we  had  on  that  day.  On  Sunday 
there  were  no  calls,  except  guard  mount  and  church 
calls.  Each  regiment  has  a  minister  who  receives 
the  rank  of  captain,  also  same  salary.  He  is  called 
chaplain,  and  conducts  all  religious  services.  Those 
who  desire  may  attend  service,  but  none  are  com- 
pelled to  do  so.  It  is  usually  poorly  attended,  and 
I  do  not  wonder  at  it,  for  in  my  experience  with 
chaplains  I  found  the  majority  of  them  uninterest- 
ing as  ministers  of  the  gospel,  but  there  were  several 
exceptions,  and  these  I  found  had  better  success. 

On  the  last  day  of  each  month  we  had  muster. 
Every  enlisted  man  was  required  to  answer  to  his 
name  and  sign  the  muster  roll,  if  he  wished  to  receive 
his  pay,  and  of  course  no  one  wanted  to  miss  that 
part  of  his  military  duty.  Pay  day  was  considered 
a  great  day  in  the  service  when  in  garrison,  and  the 
paymaster  arrived  each  month  to  pay  the  boys.  He 
was  always  a  welcome  visitor,  for  thirteen  dollars 
never  seemed  to  stay  long  with  most  of  the  boys. 
They  had  all  kinds  of  gambling  schemes,  played 
poker,  faro,  roulette  and  the  old  army  game  which  i,s 
called  ' '  chukaluck. "  It  only  took  the  professional 
a  short  time  to  have  the  amateur's  salary.  Some  of 
the  men  were  not  interested  in  these  games,  and  they 
usually  had  spending  money  throughout  the  month. 

Muster  day  being  over,  the  day  selected  for  our 
field  sports  soon  arrived.  Tents  were  erected  on  the 
parade  ground  which  lay  north  of  the  line  of  bar- 
racks. A  large  crowd  had  collected  from  the  city  to 
witness  the  feats.  The  winner  to  receive  gold  or 
silver  medals.  The  company  which  secured  the 


30         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

greatest  number  of  points  was  to  receive  a  trophy. 
The  men  of  each  company  took  a  deep  interest  in 
this  and  always  in  proceedings  of  this  kind  stood  to- 
gether as  though  glued.  My  company  had  one  mem- 
ber who  was  an  expert  bicycle  rider.  A  member  of 
Company  C  had  won  first  place  -in  the  bicycle  race 
the  previous  year.  Our  man  was  to  be  a  "dark 
horse ' '  in  the  race. 

The  men  of  these  two  companies  had  many  dis- 
putes and  quarrels  about  the  matter.  They  even 
went  so  far  as  to  bet  on  the  result  of  the  one  mile  bi- 
cycle race.  On  both  sides  of  the  barracks  were  high 
porches  from  which  doors  opened  to  upper  rooms  of 
the  barracks.  These  ran  full  length  of  the  barracks 
and  were  about  one  hundred  feet  long.  A  member 
of  my  company  from  an  upper  veranda  had  a  dis- 
pute with  several  members  of  Company  C.  The 
dispute  waxed  warm,  and  they  all  became  very  much 
excited.  The  member  of  my  company  removing  two 
twenty  dollar  gold  pieces  and  one  ten  from  his 
pocket,  threw  it  on  the  ground  and  said:  "If  you 
think  your  man  is  such  a  great  rider,  cover  that." 
If  it  had  not  been  covered  the  other  company  would 
have  felt  disgraced;  therefore  they  hustled  around 
and  secured  the  money  to  cover  the  wager.  This 
was  a  peculiar  trait  of  the  companies,  that  when  it 
came  to  company  matters  or  even  regimental,  they 
all  stood  together  as  one  man.  Perhaps  the  training 
they  received  when  recruits  had  an  influence  over 
them  when  it  came  to  such  matters. 

At  noon  the  crowd  had  grown  much  larger.  I  was 
ordered  by  the  first  sergeant  to  report  to  the  officer 
in  charge  as  a  member  of  the  temporary  guard, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  keep  people  out  of  the  way  of 
the  line  of  competitors.  It  was  with  great  pride 
that  I  put  on  my  belt  with  shining  bayonet,  and  white 
Berlin  gloves,  my  rifle  not  being  needed  for  this 
duty.  I  had  improved  wonderfully  since  my  first  ex- 


A  RECRUIT  AT  FOKT  LOGAN.  31 

perience  in  recruit  drill.  This  life  seemed  to 
fascinate  me,  drill  came  to  me  easily,  after  I  had 
been  instilled  with  the  proper  ideas  which  our  old 
seasoned  drill  sergeant  had  given  us.  After  polish- 
ing my  shoes  till  I  could  almost  see  myself  reflected 
in  them,  I  started  up  the  walk  toward  headquarters 
tent  on  the  parade  ground.  On  the  way  I  met  my 
brother  who  was  then  living  in  Denver.  He  re- 
marked on  my  improved  appearance,  but  of  course 
I  did  not  tarry  long  with  him  as  I  considered  my 
orders  as  my  first  duty,  at  that  time,  and  therefore 
hastily  went  on  to  report  to  the  officer  in  charge. 

The  feats  were  as  follows:  One  hundred  yard 
dash,  relay  runs,  running  broad  jump,  standing 
broad  jump,  running  high  jump,  putting  sixteen 
pound  shot,  throwing  sixteen  pound  hammer,  riding 
feats  in  cavalry,  potato  race,  obstacle  race,  hurdle 
race  for  cavalry  and  infantry,  and  two  bicycle  races, 
a  one  mile  race  and  a  five  mile  race.  Also  a  one 
mile  running  race  and  a  one  mile  walking  race,  heel 
and  toe.  The  interest  of  my  company  and  that  of 
Company  C,  were  solely  fixed  on  the  bicycle  race. 
That  was  the  one  topic  for  conversation.  We  had 
competitors  in  other  contests  but  they  were  com- 
pletely ignored. 

The  bicycle  races  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  pro- 
gram. The  judges  for  these  contests  were  officers 
from  both  cavalry  and  infantry.  All  other  events 
being  over,  we  turned  with  eagerness  to  witness  the 
bicycle  races.  My  company  had  been  defeated  in 
nearly  all  of  the  other  contests.  One  had  obtained 
first  prize  in  the  obstacle  race.  In  this  race  each 
competitor  was  required  to  equip  himself  with  regu- 
lation knapsack  packed,  blanket  in  a  roll,  shelter 
half  (or  part  of  tent)  packed  so  as  to  contain  one 
suit  of  underwear,  one  towel,  one  cake  of  soap,  one 
pair  of  socks,  tooth  brush,  mess  kit  and  guy  rope, 
ammunition  belt  containing  one  hundred  rounds, 


32         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

canteen  and  rifle.  Then  they  were  lined  up  in  front 
of  obstacles  which  filled  a  space  of  one  hundred 
yards,  and  which  consisted  of  a  line  of  fences  built 
across,  large  quantities  of  baled  hay,  army  trans- 
portation wagons,  field  pieces,  and  barbed  wire 
fences.  The  one  who  could  successfully  cross  these 
and  first  reach  the  goal  received  first  prize.  A  mem- 
ber of  my  company  was  successful  and  won  first 
place.  In  two  other  events  we  had  a  member  who 
won  second  prize,  and  in  another  third  prize. 

But  now  we  were  ready  for  the  bicycle  race. 
Everyone  was  eager  and  excited.  They  must  start 
at  the  right  point  of  the  horseshoe,  the  goal  being 
left  point,  nearly  opposite  starting  point.  These 
two  points  were  about  six  hundred  yards  apart. 
Everything  had  been  cleared  away  from  the  parade 
ground;  the  spectators  stood  just  beyond  the  goal. 
I  was  placed  at  the  goal  to  prevent  the  crowd  from 
surging  forward  at  the  finish.  There  was  a  line  of 
guards  along  the  track  placed  about  four  paces 
apart.  As  I  looked  across  I  could  see  the  riders  al- 
ready mounted  on  their  wheels,  being  held  in  place 
by  helpers.  Crack !  went  the  pistol ;  a  shout  went  up 
from  the  crowd,  and  the  race  was  on.  Our  member, 
who  wore  green  tights  and  rode  a  green  wheel,  shot 
ahead  like  a  flash,  and  set  the  pace  up  the  grade  to- 
ward the  bend  of  the  horseshoe.  He  soon  passed  the 
bend  and  started  down  the  slope  toward  the  goal. 
We  could  see  that  he  was  still  in  the  lead.  The  man 
in  brown,  who  was  the  member  from  company  C, 
came  close  behind  him,  our  company  cheering  like 
a  band  of  Comanche  Indians  on  the  warpath.  On 
they  came,  our  man  still  leading  and  both  pumping 
their  wheels  like  mad.  C's  man  would  spurt  for- 
ward now  and  then,  which  brought  him  even  with 
the  green  rider  each  time.  But  our  man,  exerting 
every  muscle,  would  forge  ahead  again.  I  have  wit- 
nessed a  number  of  races  but  I  think  this  was  the 


A    GROUP  OF   ARMY   BUGLERS. 


A  RECRUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  33 

most  exciting  one  I  have  ever  beheld.  As  they  came 
near  the  tape,  our  man  shot  across  like  a  gust  of 
wind,  winning  by  a  half  wheel's  length.  Our  men 
caught  him  up,  wheel  and  all,  and  all  rushed  to  E's 
quarters  howling  like  a  pack  of  wolves. 

In  the  next  race,  the  five-mile  contest,  little  inter- 
est was  manifested,  the  man  in  green  winning  by  one 
mile. 

The  day's  events  were  over  and  the  visitors  had 
all  departed,  leaving  the  boys  to  discuss  the  day's 
happenings  to  themselves.  C  company  had  won  the 
trophy,  as  they  had  gained  the  most  points  in  the 
day's  competition.  But  we  were  far  happier,  for  we 
had  staked  all  our  hopes  on  the  one  race.  We  knew 
that  in  other  things  their  men  were  superior  to  purs. 
As  we  sat  on  the  veranda  that  evening,  the  boys  from 
C  company  called  across  to  us,  "  C  company  won  the 
trophy ! "  It  was  quickly  taken  up  by  our  boys,  who 
shouted  back,  "Yes,  but  E  company  won  the 
dough ! ' '  Most  of  the  boys  had  placed  their  wager 
on  the  bicycle  race  and  of  course  had  won. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  on  the  following 
day  we  were  to  start  on  our  march  to  the  target 
range  eight  miles  south  of  Colorado  Springs,  and  at 
the  foot  of  Cheyenne  Mountain.  The  velocity  of 
the  new  rifles  was  so  great  that  we  must  have  a  dif- 
ferent background  than  when  the  old  rifles  were  in 
use, — they  being  45  caliber,  the  new,  30  caliber. 
Therefore,  the  penetrating  power  of  the  new  was  far 
superior  to  the  old. 

First  call  was  given  and  we  were  lined  up  on  the 
drill  ground  in  field  dress,  campaign  hats,  and  leg- 
gings. There  were  four  companies  and  one  troop  of 
the  Second  cavalry.  Our  commander  was  the  Lt. 
Colonel.  Banks  were  opened,  and  we  were  in- 
spected by  the  commanding  officer.  Very  close  at- 
tention was  given  to  our  shoes,  for  each  man  was 
compelled  to  wear  government  issue,  and  those  who 


34         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

had  on  shoes  purchased  by  themselves  were  com- 
pelled to  remove  them  at  once,  for  in  time  of  war 
men  would  be  unable  to  secure  other  than  govern- 
ment issue.  Therefore,  our  commanding  officer 
thought  it  wise  for  the  men  to  wear  these  on  prac- 
tice march.  This  was  rather  severe,  for  men  who 
had  difficulty  in  securing  footwear  made  of  even  the 
softest  leather  which  could  be  worn  by  them  with 
ease,  suffered  untold  agony  in  these  army  brogans, 
which  are  roughly  made.  They  very  much  resemble 
ploughmen's  shoes.  Some  years  later  a  better  shoe 
was  introduced  in  the  army,  but  of  course  that  had 
no  bearing  on  this  eighty  mile  march  over  hot,  sandy 
roads  in  which  we  wore  the  brogans.  After  inspec- 
tion, we  closed  ranks,  formed  in  columns  of  fours, 
and  started  on  our  ojurney.  The  band  led  us  as  far 
as  the  end  of  the  reservation,  playing  "The  Girl  I 
Left  Behind  Me,"  to  cheer  us  on  our  way.  We 
marched  for  fifty  minutes,  then  received  a  ten-min- 
ute rest.  We  were  not  tired  yet,  for  we  had  only 
gone  three  miles.  Attention  was  sounded  again  and 
once  more  we  started  on  our  journey,  passing 
through  the  village  of  Littleton  and  then  on  toward 
the  south. 

The  day  had  now  become  exceedingly  warm,  the 
sun  shone  directly  on  us  and  the  roads  were  sandy 
and  dusty,  and  we  were  glad  to  rest  at  the  next  halt. 
We  filled  our  canteens  from  the  irrigating  ditches 
along  the  side  of  the  road,  in  which  the  water  looked 
clear  and  sparkling,  but  contained  a  large  amount  of 
alkali.  I  noticed  that  the  older  men  drank  very 
little,  but  we  recruits  drank  our  fill.  Hour  after 
hour  we  marched  onward.  The  grand  old  Eockies 
with  their  tall  peaks  pointing  upward,  lay  to  our 
right.  I  looked  at  them  with  awe  and  wonder,  for 
these  were  the  first  mountains  I  had  ever  seen.  Now 
my  feet  began  to  smart  and  burn  and  I  began  to 
think  that  there  was  too  much  shoe  leather  on  them. 


A  EECEUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  35 

The  time  between  each  halt  seemed  to  grow  longer, 
and  to  some  of  us  it  seemed  that  we  had  made  a  very 
long  march  already.  As  we  continued  our  march, 
some  of  the  boys  fell  out  of  line,  and  waited  for  the 
ambulance  to  pick  them  up,  the  rest  of  the  boys 
laughing  and  jeering  them. 

Our  columns  marched  as  in  time  of  war,  with  ad- 
vance guard  and  rear  guard,  the  cavalry  taking  the 
former  point  and  acting  as  flankers.  The  country 
we  traveled  through  on  this  first  day  was  dry,  hot 
and  barren,  and  a  small  part  of  it  only  (that  near  the 
Fort)  being  irrigated.  About  one  o'clock  we  came 
to  our  first  camp,  which  was  fifteen  miles  distant 
from  Ft.  Logan ;  it  seemed  to  most  of  us  that  we  had 
gone  fifty  miles  instead  of  fifteen,  for  we  had  car- 
ried full  equipment.  We  went  into  camp  alongside 
the  water  tank  of  the  Rio  Grande  railway.  We 
formed  in  companies,  stacked  arms,  broke  ranks  and 
pitched  our  tents.  We  were  hot,  tired,  hungry  and 
thirsty.  Each  company  had  a  wagon  in  which  were 
stored  rations  and  extra  bedding.  Now  the  men  who 
were  detailed  to  unload  these  came  forward,  and 
pitched  the  officers'  and  hospital  tents. 

The  cooks  soon  had  a  fire  going  and  in  a  very  short 
time  we  heard  mess  call,  and  we  were  soon  drinking 
coffee  and  eating  hardtack  and  bacon.  Everyone 
was  soon  in  better  spirits.  Guard  details  were 
formed  and  soon  the  guards  were  walking  post  out- 
side our  camp.  The  afternoon  we  had  to  ourselves 
and  most  of  the  men  spent  the  time  in  securing  water 
in  which  to  bathe  the  feet,  and  looking  for  blisters. 
If  these  are  not  given  careful  attention  while  march- 
ing on  sandy  roads,  they  become  very  sore,  and  cause 
a  great  deal  of  annoyance.  So  on  the  advice  of  the 
older  men,  we  bathed  our  feet,  rinsed  our  socks, 
put  on  clean  ones  which  we  carried  with  us, 
and  dried  the  others  in  the  sun  for  the  next 
day's  march.  In  the  evening,  supper,  and  then  re- 


36        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

treat  and  then  our  first  night's  experience  of  camp 
life. 

I  had  noticed  early  in  the  evening  that  some  of  the 
older  men  did  some  digging  inside  their  tents,  which 
puzzled  me  at  the  time,  but  later  in  the  night  when  I 
was  unable  to  sleep,  I  realized  that  the  ground  was 
very  hard  and  that  if  I  had  done  the  same  my  hips 
would  not  have  become  so  tired.  At  last  I  fell 
asleep  and  was  awakened  in  the  morning  by  first  call 
and  reveille.  Breakfast  over,  we  broke  camp,  and 
were  off  for  another  day's  march,  which  was  yet 
harder  than  the  first.  We  next  camped  at  Castle 
Rock,  a  low  mountain  on  the  top  of  which  is  a  rock 
resembling  a  castle.  On  the  next  day  the  cavalry, 
which  had  preceded  us  by  a  few  hours,  was  to  choose 
a  site  for  a  sham  battle.  They  were  to  figure  as  the 
enemy  and  at  about  ten  o'clock  our  advance  guard 
located  them.  They  were  on  a  high  hill  to  our  right, 
which  was  covered  with  underbrush  and  small  pines. 
Blank  cartridges  were  issued  to  us  for  our  mock  war, 
we  were  formed  into  line  of  skirmishers  and  very 
cautiously  advanced  toward  the  enemy.  We  had  not 
gone  far  when  we  received  a  volley  from  them,  and 
were  forced  to  return  and  try  flank  movements. 
After  a  very  exciting  battle  we  went  into  camp  for 
the  night.  We  had  now  become  hardened  and  did 
not  become  as  tired  as  on  the  previous  days.  We 
next  passed  Palmer  Lake,  which  is  at  a  very  high 
point  on  the  edge  of  the  Rockies,  or  divide,  as  it  is 
called.  At  one  end  of  the  lake  the  water  flows  north, 
at  the  other  end  south.  There  were  large  hotels 
here,  for  this  is  a  summer  resort  on  the  Denver  and 
Rio  Grande  railway.  Beyond  this  we  passed  Ele- 
phant Rock.  When  seen  at  a  distance  this  rock  is 
a  perfect  image  of  an  elephant,  trunk  extending  to 
the  north.  We  camped  here  at  night,  just  beyond 
the  village  of  Monument,  which  derives  its  name 
from  two  large  rocks  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  re- 


A  RECRUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  37 

sembling  monuments.  Our  next  was  a  dry  camp 
for  we  could  scarcely  secure  any  water  at  that  place. 
Then  we  passed  on  through  Colorado  Springs  to  the 
foot  of  the  Cheyenne  Mountains,  where  we  were  to 
be  in  camp  for  a  month. 

On  this  last  day  of  our  march,  while  loading  our 
company  wagon,  I  sprained  my  ankle.  I  still  con- 
tinued marching,  though,  as  I  knew  if  I  waited  for 
the  ambulance  the  boys  would  laugh  at  me.  My 
ankle  was  swollen  so  badly  for  a  few  days  that  I 
was  compelled  to  report  at  the  hospital  tent,  was 
marked  ''quarters,"  and  was  off  duty  for  a  few  days. 
But  still  the  boys  had  their  fun  about  it,  telling  me 
that  I  told  the  captain  I  had  sprained  my  ankle  try- 
ing to  walk  military.  Here  we  received  the  large 
Sibley  tents,  in  which  fourteen  men  can  be  accom- 
modated in  one  tent.  These  were  placed  in  straight 
lines,  each  company  having  a  double  line  of  tents,  at 
the  end  of  which  were  placed  headquarters  tent, 
hospital  tents,  etc.  We  filled  our  straw  mattresses 
and  were  soon  very  comfortably  situated.  Our  tar- 
gets were  soon  placed  in  position  and  we  were  then 
ready  for  practice.  For  a  few  days  we  had  prelim- 
inary practice  that  we  might  become  accustomed  to 
the  use  of  the  rifles.  A  record  was  then  kept  of  the 
points  made  by  each  man.  If  the  shot  pierced  the 
center,  the  man  was  allowed  five  points ;  if  within  a 
certain  radius  of  the  center,  four  points  were  al- 
lowed; farther  out  three  points,  and,  if  at  the  ex- 
treme edge,  two -points.  Men  who  receive  the  high- 
est score  are  classed  as  sharpshooters  and  given  a 
silver  badge;  next  highest  is  considered  first  class, 
and  below  this,  common.  In  this  way,  when  good 
marksmen  are  needed,  it  is  not  difficult  to  select  them 
from  each  company.  We  remained  here  at  target 
practice  about  five  weeks.  We  found  this  to  be  a 
beautiful  place;  a  fine  point  for  beautiful  scenery. 
Cheyenne  Mountain  was  directly  in  front  of  us;  a 


38         ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

little  to  the  right,  South  Cheyenne  Canon,  which  ex- 
tends to  the  southwest.  This  canon  has  perpendic- 
ular walls  between  which  flows  rapidly  a  clear,  cold 
stream  of  water,  containing  large  numbers  of 
speckled  mountain  trout.  As  you  journey  on 
through  the  canon  for  several  miles,  it  begins  to 
widen  slightly  and  you  soon  approach  the  Seven 
Falls.  Steps  have  been  erected  here  which  extend 
from  the  bottom  to  the  top  of  the  falls,  which  is 
probably  more  than  a  thousand  feet  high.  After 
journeying  past  the  falls  and  a  little  farther  on,  the 
walls  of  the  canon  disappear  and  the  mountain  side 
is  covered  with  tall  pine  trees,  bushes,  and  flowers. 
Farther  on  you  come  to  the  intersection  of  two 
mountain  streams,  where  a  woman  who  had  once 
visited  this  beautiful  spot,  requested  her  friends  to 
bury  her.  There  you  will  find  her  grave,  which  is 
covered  with  a  large  mound  of  rocks,  surrounded  by 
a  small  iron  fence.  It  is  certainly  a  beautiful  and 
peaceful  resting  place  for  the  author  of  "In  Sep- 
tember" and  "  Eomona  "•  —Helen  Hunt  Jackson. 

Then  if  you  follow  the  stream  to  your  right  for  a 
short  distance,  you  will  soon  reach  a  path  which 
crosses  a  low  horse  back  at  the  top  of  which  it  sit- 
uated a  small  miner's  cabin.  Here,  at  the  time  of 
our  visit,  there  dwelt  a  man  and  his  wife,  miles 
away  from  other  people,  in  this  solitary  place.  He 
was  prospecting;  had  discovered  a  lead,  and  was  tun- 
neling and  following  its  course  in  hopes  that  he 
would  discover  gold  there.  He  took  us  in  and  ex- 
plained the  situation  to  us,  and  I  thought  I  would 
not  care  to  take  the  chances  that  he  did.  It  seemed 
to  me  to  be  a  monstrous  undertaking,  this  blasting 
away  in  the  solid  granite. 

As  we  descended  the  mountain  side,  we  came  to 
North  Cheyenne  Canon,  and  as  we  approached  it, 
turned  to  look  westward.  The  picture  which  met 
our  gaze  held  us  for  a  moment  spellbound,  for  this 


A  EECRUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  39 

was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  landscapes  we  had 
ever  seen.  Artists  have  tried  to  picture  such  scenes 
on  canvas,  but  no  hand  can  ever  portray  a  scene  like 
this  as  you  gaze  upon  it  in  the  afternoon  sunshine. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  slope  begins  North  Cheyenne 
Canon.  This  is  directly  opposite  South  Cheyenne 
Canon,  the  low  mountain  or  horse  back  intervening 
between  the  two.  The  walls  of  this  canon  slope 
gradually  down  to  the  bed  of  the  stream  with  beauti- 
ful pine  groves  on  each  side.  From  here  a  roadway 
leads  to  a  beautiful  timber  valley,  where  the  wealthy 
residents  of  Colorado  Springs  have  beautiful  sum- 
mer cottages.  After  passing  through  the  valley  we 
passed  a  large  corral  where  hundreds  of  donkeys  or 
burros  are  kept  for  the  use  of  visitors,  who  come  to 
this  region,  and  do  not  care  to  walk  through  the 
canons.  After  passing  this  we  came  to  a  slope  on 
which  is  built  a  large  casino.  From  this  point  a 
street  car  line  extends  to  Colorado  Springs,  which 
is  eight  or  ten  miles  distant.  The  casino  is  a  large 
structure,  where  the  residents  of  Colorado  Springs 
go  to  while  away  the  hours  in  gambling.  This  re- 
sort is  called  Broadmoor.  Just  beyond  this  a  short 
distance  lay  our  camp. 

Here,  just  before  returning  to  the  fort,  our  com- 
manding officer  issued  passes  to  us,  so  that  we  might 
visit  Colorado  Springs,  Garden  of  the  Gods,  Man- 
itou  Springs  and  Pike's  Peak.  We  decided  to  start 
in  the  afternoon  and  ascend  Pike's  Peak  by  moon- 
light, and  arrive  at  the  summit  in  time  for  the  sun- 
rise next  morning.  At  two  o'clock  that  afternoon 
we  boarded  the  street  car  for  Colorado  Springs. 
This  we  found  to  be  a  beautiful  city  of  35,000  inhab- 
itants, and  as  we  stepped  off  the  car  and  looked  di- 
rectly west,  we  observed,  the  grand  old  mountain 
from  Pike's  Peak  Avenue.  Here  we  boarded  an- 
other car  for  the  Garden  of  the  Gods,  and  Manitou 
Springs.  We  arrived  at  the  Natural  Gateway,  and 


40        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

entered  the  wonderful  garden,  where  we  stood  for  a 
time  gazing  at  Balance  Rock,  which  weighs  tons,  and 
resting  on  the  small  end,  looks  as  if  it  might  be 
easily  moved  from  its  position  by  a  touch  of  the 
hand.  We  would  have  liked  to  spend  days  in  ex- 
amining the  garden,  but  we  dared  not  tarry  long,  as 
our  tune  was  limited;  so  we  hurried  onward,  reach- 
ing the  beautiful  village  of  Manitou  in  the  evening. 
Here  we  found  magnetic,  iron,  sulphur  and  soda 
springs.  Large  bottling  establishments  here  were 
engaged  in  bottling  the  water  from  these  springs 
and  shipping  it.  The  village  is  situated  near  the 
Cave  of  The  Winds,  which  contains  a  natural  organ, 
with  long,  slimy  pointed  rocks  hanging  downward 
through  which  the  wind  whistles;  the  sound  re- 
sembles that  made  by  playing  an  organ.  After  vis- 
iting the  curious  little  cave,  we  were  ready  to  start 
on  our  journey  up  the  peak,  which  is  14,000  feet 
above  sea  level.  We  had  our  haversacks,  canteens 
and  tin  cups  and  decided  to  walk  to  the  summit  that 
night.  We  followed  the  line  of  the  cog  railway 
which  runs  to  the  summit,  and  is  operated  by  means 
of  a  cog  wheel  running  on  cogs  in  the  center  of  the 
track.  We  started  at  8:20  p.  m.  The  moon  had 
not  yet  risen,  the  time  for  its  appearance  being  nine 
o'clock.  We  proceeded  slowly,  for  we  could  not  see 
plainly,  which  retarded  our  progress.  We  were 
glad  when  the  moon  began  to  lighten  up  the  slope, 
and  we  could  distinguish  objects  around  us,  and 
were  enabled  to  scale  the  steep  places  with  less  dif- 
ficulty. After  we  had  gone  three  miles  on  our  way, 
we  passed  a  large  hotel.  Another  three  miles  and 
we  were  ready  for  lunch.  We  were  now  near  the 
timber  line,  so  we  gathered  enough  wood  to  build 
our  fire,  over  which  we  prepared  our  coffee  and  ate 
our  sandwiches. 

It  was  now  eleven  o'clock,  and  we  had  covered 
half  the  distance,  but  the  real  climb  was  yet  before 


NATURAL  GATEWAY   TO  THE   GARDEN    OF  THE  GODS. 


A  RECRUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  41 

us,  for  from  here  on  to  the  summit  the  ascent  is  very 
steep.  As  we  moved  on  we  were  obliged  to  incline 
our  bodies  forward  and  we  soon  reached  the  timber 
line,  above  which  the  peak  is  barren.  Now  we  began 
to  notice  the  mountain  rats,  which  scurried  across 
our  path.  They  resembled  other  rats  in  every  way 
except  size,  being  about  the  size  of  a  woodchuck. 
They  were  not  at  all  afraid  of  us.  As  we  went  on, 
several  of  my  comrades  thought  they  saw  a  moun- 
tain sheep,  but  we  could  not  tell  as  the  light  was  not 
strong  enough  to  determine.  We  passed  a  sharp 
curve  in  the  railway,  the  road  turning  almost  at 
right  angles.  Here  we  stopped  to  rest,  as  breathing 
had  become  difficult.  We  looked  far  down  below  us 
and  saw  a  small  lake  whose  water  glistened  like 
silver  in  the  moonlight.  We  started  on  our  way 
again,  but  did  not  go  far  between  rests.  One  of  the 
boys  became  very  sick,  for  it  was  now  growing  cold 
and  we  had  no  overcoats  with  us;  each  time  we 
rested  we  became  chilled.  Climbing  now  became 
difficult  and  we  were  very  tired,  so  we  began  to  wish 
for  the  summit  to  appear.  Time  slipped  by  rapidly, 
and  at  half  past  two  we  arrived  at  the  top  of  the 
peak.  Our  comrade  had  grown  worse  by  this  time, 
and  when  we  reached  the  railway  platform  he  fell 
prostrate;  his  eyes  rolled,  and  we  were  much 
alarmed.  Gathering  him  up  we  proceeded  to  carry 
him  to  the  hotel,  which  was  near  at  hand.  There 
we  each  paid  twenty-five  cents  for  admittance,  but 
we  gladly  entered  the  building,  for  we  were  very 
cold ;  the  platform  on  which  our  comrade  had  fallen 
was  covered  with  frost.  We  gathered  around  the 
warm  fire  and  obtained  a  cup  of  coffee  for  our  sick 
comrade. 

Here  we  waited  until  time  for  the  sun  to  rise.  As 
the  sky  in  the  east  grew  pale,  other  visitors  began  to 
arrive  from  Cripple  Creek.  They  had  ascended  the 
peak  on  horseback.  I  noticed  that  everyone  ap- 


42        ABOUND  THE  WOKLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

peared  very  pale,  not  being  accustomed  to  that  alti- 
tude. Presently  it  grew  lighter  and  pink  tints 
seemed  to  shoot  across  the  eastern  sky,  soon  fol- 
lowed by  the  sun  himself,  which  seemed  to  move  so 
rapidly.  This  was  certainly  a  wonderful  view  of 
the  sunrise,  and  worth  our  long,  weary  climb.  The 
clouds  were  below  us  and  looking  eastward  toward 
the  sun,  appeared  like  landscapes. 

We  now  began  to  examine  the  top  of  the  peak. 
The  men  at  the  hotel  pointed  out  to  us  the  direction 
in  which  the  city  of  Denver  lay,  and  remarked  that 
on  a  clear  morning  they  could  observe  the  city,  which 
was  seventy-five  miles  away.  They  also  pointed 
out  to  us  the  mound  of  small  boulders  where  a  small 
girl  was  buried,  who  had  wandered  away  from  her 
parents  and  had  been  attacked  by  mountain  rats; 
she  had  been  so  badly  injured  by  these  that  she  died 
from  the  injuries  they  inflicted  on  her,  and  was 
buried  near  the  spot. 

We  were  now  ready  for  the  descent,  and  as  we 
moved  rapidly  down  the  railway  we  passed  scores 
of  people  who  were  trying  to  reach  the  summit,  in 
time  for  sunrise.  We  were  not  long  in  making  the 
descent,  and  soon  arrived  at  Manitou,  where  we 
boarded  a  car  for  Colorado  Springs,  and  from  there 
to  camp,  where  we  arrived  very  tired  and  sleepy. 
In  a  few  days  we  were  on  our  way  back  to  Fort  Lo- 
gan, where  we  arrived  in  due  time,  and  relieved  the 
battalion  in  the  barracks,  who  then  started  on  their 
journey  for  target  practice.  Life  went  on  in  the 
usual  way  at  the  barracks;  we  were  not  long  in  fin- 
ishing our  recruit  drill  and  were  now  considered  as 
one  of  the  boys. 

Once  each  year  the  city  of  Denver  held  a  carnival 
called  the  Mountain  and  Plain  Festival,  which  usu- 
ally lasted  one  week.  One  day  of  these  festivities 
was  called  military  day,  and  we  were  to  head  the 
procession ;  so  here,  several  months  after  witnessing 


A  RECRUIT  AT  FORT  LOGAN.  43 

my  first  great  parade,  I  participated  in  one  myself, 
a  full  fledged  American  soldier.  It  was  with  great 
pride  that  I  marched  past  the  spot  where  I  had  pre- 
viously witnessed  the  boys  in  blue  march  by. 

I  had  now  been  in  the  service  over  fourteen 
months,  and  one  day,  while  standing  in  the  amuse- 
ment room,  our  company  sergeant  appeared  in  the 
doorway  and  approached  me  with  paper  in  hand. 
As  he  handed  me  the  paper,  he  said:  ''This  is 
yours."  After  looking  it  over,  I  saw  it  was  a  war- 
rant for  promotion  to  corporal  in  my  company. 
This  surprised  me  greatly,  and  I  hardly  knew 
whether  to  accept  or  not,  but  I  soon  found  that  I  had 
no  choice  in  the  matter.  It  created  some  jealousy 
and  considerable  comment,  for  there  were  many  in 
the  company  who  had  served  for  years.  I  per- 
formed the  duties  assigned  me  as  well  as  I  knew 
how. 

Another  year  passed  by  and  we  again  journeyed 
to  the  target  range,  where  a  department  competition 
was  conducted.  All  the  sharpshooters  in  this  de- 
partment were  assembled,  and  we  witnessed  some 
excellent  shooting  contests.  It  was  late  in  October 
when  we  again  returned  to  the  barracks. 

We  had  now  grown  tired  of  drill,  parades  and 
guard  duty,  so  one  day  in  January  a  comrade  and 
myself  made  application  for  a  two  months'  fur- 
lough. It  was  granted,  and  a  few  days  later  we 
were  on  our  way  to  Pueblo,  Colorado.  We  secured 
employment  there  in  the  works  of  the  Colorado  Fuel 
and  Iron  Company.  One  evening  after  returning 
from  work  we  became  very  much  excited,  for  as  we 
glanced  over  the  daily  newspaper  we  saw  in  glaring 
headlines — '  *  The  Maine  Blown  Up ;  War  With  Spain 
Certain."  A  thrill  ran  through  us.  No  one  in  this 
place  knew  that  we  were  members  of  the  U.  S.  Army, 
as  we  were  very  careful  that  no  one  should  learn  our 
secret. 


44        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

We  eagerly  watched  the  papers  from  day  to  day. 
Each  evening  we  had  heated  discussions  with  the 
men  at  the  hotel,  some  declaring  that  the  president 
ought  to  declare  war  at  once,  proceed  to  Cuba,  clean 
out  the  island  and  then  on  to  Spain.  Men  under  the 
stress  of  excitement  will  make  many  unreasonable 
demands  in  things  that  should  be  left  to  the  discre- 
tion of  those  who  have  had  experience  in  warfare 
and  who  have  devoted  their  lifetime  to  the  study  of 
such  problems.  Others  thought  the  president  should 
be  impeached,  never  realizing  what  it  means  to  be 
engaged  in  warfare,  or  the  loss  of  life,  sorrow,  and 
expense  caused  thereby.  Thousands  have  been  slain 
at  times  who  scarcely  knew  why  they  were  engaged 
in  fighting.  But  this  fighting  spirit  and  thirst  for 
blood  seems  to  be  in  the  blood  of  all  men  since  the 
creation  of  man. 

Our  time  of  vacation  had  almost  expired,  so  early 
in  March  we  started  for  Fort  Logan,  presented  our 
furlough  there  and  reported  for  duty.  We  received 
a  warm  welcome  from  the  boys,  for  they  were  all 
glad  to  see  us  back.  Excitement  was  very  great 
here,  for  our  commanding  officer  had  received  orders 
to  be  ready  to  leave  on  a  day's  notice.  Our  former 
commander  had  been  promoted  to  rank  of  general 
and  lieutenant  colonel  was  now  in  command.  We 
were  all  engaged  in  packing  our  belongings.  All 
articles  were  packed  away  except  those  needed  in 
field  service.  It  was  thought  that  war  might  be  de- 
clared at  any  time,  therefore  we  were  held  in  readi- 
ness. One  day  we  received  an  order  from  the  war 
department  to  leave  the  next  week  for  New  Orleans. 
Everyone  was  in  high  glee.  I  felt  somewhat  troubled 
for  my  captain  had  decided  to  leave  me  in  charge  of 
all  company  property  stored  away  at  the  Fort,  and  I 
was  eager  to  leave  with  the  rest  of  the  boys.  At  last 
he  chose  two  privates  from  my  company  and  had 
them  detailed  for  this  duty,  and  I  felt  highly  elated. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FAREWELL      TO      FORT      LOGAN WAR       DECLARED FROM 

COLORADO    TO    TAMPA SAILING    TO    CUBA. 

N  the  morning  of  April  18th,  1898,  was  the 
time  fixed  for  our  departure.  The  sun 
shone  bright  and  clear ;  the  time  for  our 
train  had  almost  arrived  and  we  were 
all  in  high  spirits.  They  had  planned  to 
have  us  march  to  the  Santa  Fe  railroad  crossing,  one 
and  one  half  miles  east  of  the  barracks,  and  there 
board  the  train  for  the  South;  but  the  citizens  of 
Denver  had  learned  of  this  plan.  They  sent  a  peti- 
tion to  our  department  commander  who  then  resided 
in  that  city,  asking  that  we  give  a  farewell  parade. 
This  regiment  had  been  stationed  there  so  long  and 
had  particitpated  in  so  many  parades,  that  they 
wished  to  see  the  regiment  once  more  before  depart- 
ure. So  on  due  consideration  he  finally  acquiesced. 
We  formed  in  companies  on  the  parade  ground,  then 
marched  around  the  officers'  line  for  our  farewell. 
Here  wives  and  families  of  the  officers  were  watch- 
ing with  tear  dimmed  eyes,  as  we  marched  by.  We 
turned  at  headquarters  building  and  filed  down  to 
the  depot  where  our  train  was  in  waiting.  Here 
were  the  families  of  many  of  the  enlisted  men  who 
were  married  while  in  the  service,  and  whose  fami- 
lies resided  in  the  village  of  Logantown.  Our  train 
was  in  two  sections;  the  first  carried  the  first  bat- 
talion or  first  four  companies,  the  second  section 
carried  the  second  battalion  or  last  four  companies. 
The  first  section  started  on  its  way,  and  ten  minutes 
later  the  second  followed. 

My  company  was  in  the  second  section,  as  we  be- 
longed to  the  second  battalion.    Amid  the  tears  and 


46         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

waving  of  handkerchiefs,  the  train  pulled  away  from 
the  platform;  for  many  wives  and  children  had 
looked  for  the  last  time  on  the  faces  of  their  loved 
ones.  We  soon  passed  Military  Park,  and  in  a  short 
time  steamed  into  the  union  depot  in  Denver. 
Thousands  of  people  had  gathered  here  on  the  prin- 
cipal street  to  bid  us  farewell.  We  formed  in  line, 
passed  up  the  street  then  crossed  over  and  started 
down  another.  Excitement  ran  high,  and  the  streets 
were  strewn  with  flowers,  and  crowds  cheered  as  we 
marched  by,  many  crying  out  ''Give  it  to  them 
boys!"  ''Remember  the  Maine!"  We  marched  on 
not  looking  to  right  or  left,  for  we  were  under  dis- 
cipline when  on  parade,  as  well  as  at  other  times. 
In  about  one-half  hour  we  were  back  and  aboard  our 
train.  Here  thousands  passed  through  the  train  to 
shake  hands  and  bid  us  farewell.  This  over,  we 
again  started  on  our  way,  passing  southward  along 
the  Rockies.  This  was  along  the  line  we  had  marched 
to  the  target  range;  but  how  different  everything 
seemed  now.  We  soon  reached  Colorado  Springs 
where  thousands  had  gathered  around  the  depot. 
Many  of  us  stepped  off  the  train  to  get  a  last  glimpse 
of  that  grand  old  mountain — Pike's  Peak,  which  ap- 
peared in  the  distance  like  a  sentinel.  We  passed  on 
toward  the  South  and  a  few  hours  later  were  in  the 
city  of  Pueblo.  My  comrade  and  I  who  had  been 
here  on  furlough  slipped  away  to  the  hotel,  while 
engines  were  being  exchanged.  Here  we  met  a  num- 
ber of  acquaintances  to  whom  we  gave  army  souve- 
nirs. They  were  much  surprised  and  laughed  heart- 
ily when  we  told  them  that  the  tune  we  had  spent 
there  was  only  on  furlough.  We  were  soon  back  and 
aboard  our  train,  and  moving  away  across  the-  plains 
of  Colorado  and  into  the  state  of  Kansas. 

After  passing  through  the  state  of  Kansas,  we  en- 
tered Oklahoma  and  were  traveling  the  fertile 
Indian  Reservations  which  a  few  years  before  were 


FAREWELL  TO  FORT  LOGAN.  47 

opened  to  the  public.  We  traveled  for  miles  and 
miles  across  thousands  of  acres  of  wheat  which  was 
just  heading;  past  large  farm  houses,  new  villages 
which  no  doubt  had  sprung  up  in  a  few  weeks,  then 
through  the  Comanche  Indian  Reservation.  We 
passed  the  large  Indian  schools,  and  when  we 
reached  a  fine  timbered  tract  to  our  left,  the  train 
stopped  and  we  stepped  off  to  greet  a  white  haired 
old  Indian  chief,  White  Eagle,  who  shook  hands  very 
warmly.  He  had  perhaps  led  his  band  on  many 
raids  and  no  doubt  the  scalps  of  many  had  dangled 
from  his  belt.  Now,  he  was  our  friend  and  wished 
us  well  in  our  undertaking.  The  engine  whistled 
and  we  were  on  our  way  again  passing  through  the 
beautiful  and  fertile  reservation  that  our  govern- 
ment had  given  to  the  red  men  for  their  hunting 
ground.  It  seemed  to  us  unwise  to  leave  this  fertile 
tract  lie  waste,  overgrown  with  weeds  and  brush. 
We  passed  many  tepees  where  the  red  men  had 
built  their  abode  of  poles  over  which  was  stretched 
ragged  pieces  of  dirty  old  canvas.  We  often  passed 
ponies  to  which  were  attached  two  poles,  the  ends 
of  which  dragged  along  on  the  ground  and  on  which 
were  fastened  the  papoose  and  their  worldly  be- 
longings. Along  toward  nightfall  we  left  the  reser- 
vation, passing  out  into  the  white  man's  country. 
We  were  soon  passing  villages  where  we  observed 
bands  of  cowboys,  who  fired  their  pistols,  tossed 
their  sombreros  and  cheered  wildly  as  we  passed  by. 
When  we  arrived  in  Guthrie  we  learned  the  cause  of 
this  demonstration.  War  had  been  declared  against 
Spain.  Here  our  commanding  officer  received  a 
telegram  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  ordered 
us  to  proceed  to  Chickamauga  Park  by  way  of  Kan- 
sas City. 

We  passed  back  over  part  of  the  way  we  had  just 
traveled,  and  the  next  morning  found  us  in  Kansas 
City.  Here  we  were  transferred  to  the  Kansas  City, 


48         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

Ft.  Scott  &  Memphis  railroad.  We  were  to  camp 
and  be  mobilized  on  one  of  the  great  battlefields  of 
the  Civil  War.  At  Kansas  City  many  thousands  of 
people  gathered  to  see  us  off.  We  were  soon  cross- 
ing the  low  swampy  region  in  the  state  of  Arkansas, 
passing  through  small  villages  which  were  built  up 
on  poles  or  piling  along  the  railroad  embankment. 
We  wondered  how  these  people  could  manage  to  sub- 
sist for  as  we  went  along  we  could  only  observe  a 
few  chickens  and  razorback  hogs.  As  these  animals 
walked  along  we  were  puzzled  at  how  they  balanced 
themselves  for  their  heads  were  the  largest  part  of 
them,  and  it  seemed  as  though  the  nose  would  strike 
the  ground  and  prevent  them  going  farther.  It 
looked  to  me  as  though  it  would  be  far  easier  for 
them  to  walk  backwards.  There  was  excitement  all 
along  the  way  and  as  we  whirled  by  the  cities  and 
villages  it  seemed  as  though  every  one  had  turned 
out  to  cheer  us  on  our  way.  Everywhere  we  heard 
the  shout,  " Remember  the  Maine."  We  soon 
crossed  the  Mississippi  and  arrived  in  the  city  of 
Memphis.  Here  .we  received  a  cordial  welcome.  All 
sorts  of  refreshments  were  offered  to  us.  In  the 
morning  we  arrived  in  Corinth,  Miss.  Here  one  of 
the  many  battles  of  the  Civil  War  had  been  fought, 
and  the  man  who  later  became  commander  of  the 
Union  forces  had  figured  in  that  battle. 

Many  of  the  Confederate  veterans  welcomed  us 
here,  and  gave  us  bullets  and  slugs,  which  they  told 
us  they  had  gathered  from  the  battlefields.  A  few 
days  later  we  arrived  at  Chattanooga,  passing 
through  a  part  of  Tennessee  where  we  beheld  old 
southern  mansions,  around  which  stretched  the 
broad  fields  of  cotton.  They  appeared  as  in  former 
days  when  the  negroes  worked  under  the  hand  of 
force.  Looking  southwest  of  Chattanooga  we  ob- 
served Lookout  Mountain,  where  the  battle  above 
the  clouds  was  fought.  On  the  summit  of  this  moun- 


ARMY    SIBLEY   TENTS. 


FAREWELL  TO  FORT  LOGAN.  49 

tain  now  stands  a  large  hotel,  and  tourists  may  as- 
cend and  descend  the  mountain  by  railway.  We  now 
took  the  Georgia  Central  railway  and  proceeded 
southward  and  soon  arrived  at  Lytle  Station  on  the 
western  edge  of  Chickamauga  Park.  Here  we  fell 
into  line,  marching  off  in  columns  of  fours,  till  we 
came  to  the  edge  of  a  bloody  pond,  where  we  went 
into  camp,  directly  between  Lytle  Hill,  where  Gen- 
eral Lytle  was  killed,  and  Widow  Glen's  cottage, 
where  the  commander  of  the  Union  forces  had  his 
headquarters.  Thousands  of  soldiers  were  now 
camping  on  the  old  battlefield. 

Every  branch  of  the  service  was  represented  here. 
Here  we  received  news  of  the  naval  battle  in  Manila 
Bay.  This  came  as  a  great  surprise  for  no  one  had 
dreamed  of  the  hornets'  nest  the  first  naval  victory 
of  the  Spanish- American  War  had  stirred  up.  Prev- 
ious to  this,  thousands  had  been  oblivious  of  the 
existence  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  for  they  occupy 
a  very  small  place  on  the  map  of  the  world.  When 
the  news  of  this  victory  was  announced  in  camp, 
bands  played  and  the  boys  cheered.  We  were  sepa- 
rated in  two  divisions  and  brigades.  Our  camp  was 
Camp  General  George  H.  Thomas,  named  for  the 
hero  of  Missionary  Ridge,  and  called  Eock  of  Chick- 
amauga. We  spent  hours  observing  the  places  of 
interest,  which  were  all  marked  by  monuments  and 
large  tablets  on  which  were  given  minute  descrip- 
tions of  the  principal  engagements.  Large  towers 
have  been  erected  upon  elevations  in  the  park  and 
when  you  gain  the  top  of  one  of  these  you  can  com- 
mand a  view  of  the  entire  park.  The  park  contains 
many  driveways,  and  all  underbrush  has  been 
cleared  away,  making  this  an  ideal  camping  ground. 
Our  regiment  was  placed  on  war  basis  and  this 
meant  hard  work  for  every  one.  Recruits  began  to 
arrive  and  we  had  much  difficulty  in  drilling  these 
men  and  preparing  them  for  service.  A  rumor 


50         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

reached  camp  that  a  great  Spanish  fleet  had  arrived 
at  Cuba,  and  was  then  in  the  harbor  of  Santiago. 
We  were  very  eager  to  proceed  to  the  front  and  be- 
lieved that  we  would  be  the  first  to  embark  for  Cuba ; 
for  it  was  now  conceded  that  that  island  would  be 
the  seat  of  war. 

The  recuits  who  arrived  at  camp  were  principally 
Americans;  most  of  them  from  Boston,  Philadel- 
phia, Denver  and  other  large  cities.  I  now  received 
my  promotion  as  sergeant,  and  much  of  my  time  was 
devoted  to  drilling  recruits.  My  first  drill  sergeant 
was  now  regimental  color  bearer.  He  had  served  in 
the  Civil  War  and  many  Indian  campaigns.  We 
now  noticed  a  change  in  most  of  our  officers,  in  their 
attitude  toward  the  men.  They  seemed  nearer  to 
them  and  could  not  be  so  precise  in  the  execution  of 
many  duties,  with  the  exception  of  a  few,  and  no 
doubt  their  military  training  was  the  cause,  and 
they  were  not  favorites  with  the  men.  A  number  of 
them  had  received  nick-names  and  when  we  heard 
these,  knew  for  whom  they  were  meant.  After  we 
had  been  stationed  here  for  twenty  days,  a  part  of 
the  volunteer  army  which  had  been  organized  and 
sworn  into  service,  was  ordered  to  this  point.  These 
men  represented  almost  every  state,  and  numbering 
about  300,000  were  mobilized  in  different  parts  of 
the  United  States  to  be  drilled  and  placed  on  a 
military  footing,  as  it  was  believed  that  a  large  num- 
ber of  men  would  be  needed  for  service  in  Cuba. 
One  morning  in  the  latter  part  of  May  we  marched 
to  Eingold,  Ga.,  where  we  boarded  a  train  for 
Tampa,  Florida,  thus  making  more  room  at  the 
park  for  the  volunteer  army.  We  crossed  Buzzards ' 
Boost,  a  very  high  and  rough  hill,  which  had  received 
its  name  during  the  time  of  the  Civil  War. 

We  followed  the  same  ground  which  at  that  time 
had  been  a  running  fight,  and  after  marching  for 
several  hours  over  hot  sandy  roads  we  arrived  at 


FAREWELL  TO  FORT  LOGAN.  51 

Ringold,  which  place  still  bore  marks  of  the  battle 
fought  there.  We  could  see  where  the  shrapnel  and 
shot  had  pierced  the  sides  of  the  buildings.  It 
seemed  that  no  improvements  had  been  made  in  the 
village  since  the  war.  East  of  the  village  were 
rough  hills,  where  we  were  informed  that  hard  fight- 
ing and  bushwhacking  had  been  done.  Our  trains 
were  waiting  for  us  here  and  we  boarded  them  and 
were  soon  on  our  way  south  to  Tampa.  We  shortly 
reached  Atlanta,  and  passed  on  through  Georgia 
into  Florida.  Here  was  pointed  out  to  us  the 
Suwanee  Eiver,  from  which  the  song  by  that  name  is 
derived.  The  country  through  which  we  traveled 
was  now  becoming  more  tropical  in  appearance; 
there  were  jungles  of  thick  undergrowth,  magnolias, 
and  many  curious  plants  that  most  of  us  never  had 
seen  before.  We  were  eager  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  alligators,  but  failed  to  do  so  until  we  reached 
Tampa,  which  we  found  to  be  a  sleepy  and  quiet  old 
southern  city.  Our  camp  was  located  about  two 
miles  west  of  the  city.  Here  we  were  busy  for 
several  days  erecting  our  tents  and  putting  things 
in  order.  We  were  along  side  the  Southern  railway, 
which  extended  to  Port  Tampa,  about  twenty-five 
miles  distant. 

Troops  began  to  arrive  at  Tampa  from  all  sec- 
tions and  the  town  seemed  alive  with  soldiers.  In 
every  direction  could  be  seen  the  dotted  lines  of 
tents,  which  were  occupied  by  the  regular  soldiers. 
Men  from  other  cities  now  came  here  to  start  gamb- 
ling places,  and  other  devices  to  attract  the  soldiers. 
Every  inducement  they  could  think  of  was  used  to 
drain  the  soldiers'  pocketbooks,  and  in  most  in- 
stances the  boys  were  easy  victims.  Alligators  were 
sold  on  nearly  every  street  in  the  city.  These  were 
placed  in  boxes  or  cages  and  sent  north  to  friends 
for  souvenirs.  One  day  about  twelve  members  of 
my  company,  including  myself,  decided  to  take  a 


52        ABOUND  THE  WOKLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

sail  across  the  bay  to  Port  Tampa,  at  which  place  we 
wished  to  observe  the  fitting  up  of  the  transports 
which  were  to  convey  us  to  the  island  of  Cuba.  We 
therefore  secured  passes  and  started  for  the  docks, 
early  in  the  morning,  where  we  secured  a  small  sail 
boat  with  two  masts,  and  two  experienced  men  to 
sail  it,  for  our  captain  did  not  want  us  to  undertake 
sailing  the  vessel  alone.  We  were  soon  on  our  way, 
tacking  from  one  side  of  the  stream  to  the  other.  It 
seemed  like  a  long  distance  out  into  the  bay,  but  as 
we  came  in  full  view,  how  beautiful  it  looked,  to 
those  of  us  who  had  never  seen  a  large  body  of 
water.  The  wind  set  the  water  in  motion,  causing 
beautiful  ripples  to  appear  on  its  surface  and  far 
off  in  the  distance  could  be  seen  white  sails  which 
were  flapping  in  the  wind  like  large  winged  birds. 
As  we  neared  the  open  bay  the  wind  became 
stronger,  and  a  wonderful  sensation  stole  over  us 
as  our  little  craft  glided  so  swiftly  and  smoothly 
down  the  bay.  To  us  this  was  a  novel  experience, 
for  we  had  never  experienced  pleasure  of  this  kind 
before,  and  our  sailors  to  whom  the  little  bark  re- 
sponded so  readily,  guided  her  across  the  bay,  the 
wind  filling  her  sails  which  bulged  out  to  their  full 
capacity.  We  passed  by  the  wreck  of  an  old  vessel 
which  had  been  run  ashore  by  her  crew  a  few  years 
before;  it  having  been  infested  with  yellow  fever. 
We  sailed  for  several  hours,  before  coming  in  sight 
of  Port  Tampa.  Here  we  sighted  vessels  of  every 
description.  Men  of  war,  built  of  steel,  which  caused 
us  to  wonder  how  such  masses  of  iron  could  possibly 
float.  From  its  sides  extend  the  large  guns,  point- 
ing their  noses  outward,  and  which  caused  us  to 
wonder  again  how  they  could  withstand  the  recoil 
from  these  when  fired. 

As  we  nearded  the  docks  we  also  observed  the 
large  mercantile  vessels  which  were  also  constructed 
of  iron.  Men  were  busy  placing  temporary  wooden 


FAREWELL  TO  FORT  LOGAN.  53 

bunks  between  decks  on  these  vessels.  There  were 
dozens  of  these  all  being  prepared  in  the  same  man- 
ner. We  ran  alongside  one  of  these,  tied  our  boat 
and  stepped  out  upon  the  dock.  An  old  fashioned 
vessel  had  entered  just  at  that  time  and  tied  up.  The 
name  of  this  vessel  was  the  Gussie.  She  had  just 
returned  from  Cuba  where  she  had  delivered  a  sup- 
ply of  arms  and  ammunition  to  General  Gomez.  On 
board  were  two  companies  of  the  First  United 
States  Infantry.  They  informed  us  that  they  were 
not  successful  in  their  first  attempt  to  deliver  the 
ammunition  to  the  Cubans.  The  Spaniards  had  dis- 
covered their  intention  and  fired  on  them  from  shore. 
They  pointed  out  many  places  on  the  sides  of  the 
vessel  where  the  Mauser  bullets  had  pierced  her 
cabin  deck.  She  had  then  proceeded  along  the 
shore  and  after  signaling  had  come  in  communica- 
tion with  the  Cuban  soldiers,  and  landed  their  cargo 
in  small  boats,  and  after  accomplishing  her  mission 
had  returned  to  Port  Tampa  to  be  fitted  up  as  a 
transport.  We  walked  to  the  end  of  the  pier  where 
we  saw  men  carrying  meat,  clothing  and  other  sup- 
plies aboard  the  vessels.  We  also  noticed  a  group 
of  dark  complexioned  men,  small  of  stature,  who 
were  talking  very  earnestly  and  rapidly,  and  with 
many  gestures  and  much  shrugging  of  their 
shoulders.  We  could  not  understand  a  word  of 
their  language  and  on  inquiry  found  that  they  were 
Cubans  who  had  been  driven  from  the  island  by  the 
severe  and  cruel  treatment  of  the  Spaniards  who  had 
followed  their  inhuman  mode  of  warfare  for  several 
years.  These  men  were  returning  to  General  Gomez, 
who  was  then  in  the  province  of  Pinar  del  Eio. 

Many  of  the  wives  and  children  of  these  men  were 
here  to  bid  them  farewell,  and  doubtless  hoping  for 
the  day  that  would  carry  them  back  to  their  native 
island.  It  was  now  time  for  us  to  return  to  camp 
and  we  returned  to  the  boat  and  were  soon  on  our 


54        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

way,  feeling  very  much  pleased  with  our  first  sail. 
We  were  now  assigned  to  the  Fifth  army  corps, 
which  had  received  orders  to  embark  as  soon  as 
practicable  and  sail  for  Cuba.  We  were  to  land 
near  Santiago  to  assist  the  navy  in  capturing  the 
Spanish  fleet,  which  they  had  bottled  up  in  the  har- 
bor of  Santiago.  We  were  formed  in  divisions  and 
brigades.  My  regiment  together  with  the  Twelfth 
and  Seventeenth  were  placed  in  second  division, 
third  brigade.  Our  division  and  brigade  com- 
manders were  both  veterans  of  the  Civil  War,  hav- 
ing continued  in  service  after  the  close  of  the  war, 
and  had  also  served  in  Indian  campaigns,  as  had 
also  these  regiments  that  were  placed  together  in  the 
third  brigade. 

We  received  several  hours'  drill  each  day.  Our 
officers  were  busy  securing  servants,  for  in  time  of 
war  they  could  not  have  enlisted  men  to  attend  to 
their  wants.  In  time  of  peace  they  paid  certain  en- 
listed men  small  salaries  for  their  work  about  the 
quarters  which  must  be  attended  to.  The  men  who 
performed  these  duties  for  the  officers  were  called 
dog  robbers,  because  the  boys  said  they  ate  up  the 
scraps  and  crumbs  that  were  left  at  meal  time,  in 
that  way  robbing  the  officers'  dogs  of  their  portion. 
The  cause  of  the  ill  feeling  toward  these  men  lay  in 
the  belief  that  they  carried  news  from  the  company 
to  the  officers  and  it  seemed  to  the  other  men  that 
their  attitude  was  that  of  servants,  and  therefore 
this  work  was  never  popular  with  the  men.  In  the 
field  it  was  hard  for  the  officers  to  get  enlisted  men 
to  do  this  work  for  they  could  not  be  regularly  de- 
tailed for  such  duties.  Some  of  the  officers  secured 
men  to  embark  with  them  as  servants,  but  the  major- 
ity had  to  attend  to  their  own  wants.  Our  com- 
panies each  had  the  full  number  of  men  and  com- 
pany I  in  our  regiment  had  been  organized.  Com- 
missioned officers  were  transferred  from  the  other 


FAKEWELL  TO  FOET  LOGAN.  55 

two  battalions.  While  yet  in  camp  a  long  train 
carrying  a  new  regiment  of  cavalry  began  to  unload 
near  our  camp.  This  regiment  had  been  organized 
in  the  west,  and  were  called  Eough  Eiders.  The 
men  in  this  regiment  were  principally  cowboys,  from 
the  western  plains  and  were  mounted  on  bronchos. 
They  went  into  camp  almost  opposite  us,  and  across 
the  railroad.  They  were  fully  equipped  with  arms 
and  ammunition  and  spent  whole  days  in  drill.  They 
made  wonderful  progress  too,  for  they  told  us  that 
they  had  only  been  organized  a  month  before,  and 
now  fifteen  hundred  miles  from  the  place  at  which 
they  were  sworn  into  service,  they  were  ready  to 
embark  with  us  on  the  first  expedition  to  Cuba. 

It  was  believed  that  a  few  volunteer  regiments — 
the  Seventy-first  New  York,  Second  Massachusetts, 
and  First  Volunteer  Cavalry  or  Eough  Eiders,  to- 
gether with  the  Eegular  Army  would  be  sufficient 
troops  for  this  expedition.  While  in  camp  here  a 
large  number  of  the  men  would  gather  around  the 
Tampa  Bay  Hotel  each  evening  to  listen  to  the  con- 
cert given  by  the  band,  that  place  being  the  head- 
quarters of  the  commander  of  the  Fifth  Army  corps. 
The  grounds  surrounding  the  hotel  were  very  beau- 
tiful, and  it  was  very  pleasant  to  listen  there  on 
moonlight  evenings.  On  the  evening  of  the  sixth  of 
June  we  heard  the  general  call,  our  tents  were  or- 
dered taken  down,  and  we  boarded  a  train  bound  for 
Port  Tampa,  where  we  arrived  next  morning  at  sun- 
rise. We  marched  out  on  the  pier,  where  six  com- 
panies of  my  regiment  boarded  a  transport  with 
brigade  headquarters.  The  remaining  three  com- 
panies were  sent  aboard  the  chartered  boat  Decatur 
H.  Miller.  On  our  boat  there  was  scarcely  room  to 
accommodate  one-half  of  the  men  who  had  boarded 
the  vessel.  Men  were  scurrying  everywhere,  look- 
ing for  sleeping  quarters  in  every  nook  and  corner. 
Some  had  secured  hammocks  and  these  were  strung 


56        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

up  in  all  parts  of  the  main  deck,  as  there  were  not 
enough  temporary  bunks  to  accommodate  them.  I 
was  very  fortunate  myself  as  four  sergeants  from 
each  company  were  allowed  berths  off  the  saloon  or 
dining  deck.  On  the  lower  deck  were  placed  three 
hundred  and  fifty  army  mules,  which  kept  up  a  con- 
tinual roaring  and  squealing.  Some  of  the  boys  re- 
marked that  we  would  have  battle  before  starting 
for  every  one  was  dissatisfied  with  accommodations. 
Company  cooks  were  to  prepare  their  meals  in  the 
mess  galley,  which  was  only  large  enough  to  accom- 
modate the  cooking  for  boat's  crew,  and  was  now  to 
accommodate  three  hundred  extra  men,  and  this 
caused  much  discontent  and  poor  meals  were  served. 
It  was  an  interesting  sight  to  see  the  boys  of  each 
company  mess  kit  in  hand  moving  along  in  line,  to 
receive  their  portion  of  the  rations. 

Cornbeef,  beans,  tomatoes,  hardtack  and  coffee 
one  meal ;  the  next  beans,  tomatoes,  hardtack,  coffee 
and  cornbeef;  the  next,  tomatoes,  hardtack,  coffee, 
cornbeef  and  beans.  This  was  our  menu  for  the 
next  twelve  days,  and  this  we  received  regularly 
three  times  each  day,  and  of  course  we  enjoyed  it 
very  much  when  we  had  begun  to  get  used  to  it.  All 
around  us  boats  were  embarking  for  the  island  and 
two  days  later  we  backed  out  of  the  harbor  and  got 
under  way,  amid  the  loud  cheering  of  our  comrades, 
and  continuous  playing  of  the  band.  We  were  to 
proceed  across  the  bay  and  out  into  the  gulf,  and 
there  await  the  remainder  of  the  fleet.  The  boats 
which  composed  it  were  numbered  from  one  to  forty- 
nine.  It  was  necessary  to  have  a  large  convoy  of 
men  of  war  to  escort  us,  for  otherwise  we  would 
have  been  at  the  mercy  of  the  smallest  gunboats  or 
torpedo  boats,  which  could  have  raised  havoc  among 
us,  sending  us  all  to  the  bottom;  for  our  boats  car- 
ried only  heavy  freight  of  human  passengers.  We 
were  traveling  along  at  a  very  slow  rate  when  we 


PALMER  LAKE,  COLORADO. 


FAKEWELL  TO  FOBT  LOGAN.  57 

were  overtaken  by  a  United  States  torpedo  boat 
which  ordered  us  to  return  to  Tampa,  to  our  great 
surprise,  and  causing  us  to  believe  that  the  war  was 
ended.  But  when  we  returned  we  were  informed  that 
a  small  Spanish  fleet  had  been  reported  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  it  was  necessary  for  the  navy  to  in- 
vestigate before  we  were  allowed  to  proceed.  We 
returned  to  the  dock;  the  mules  were  unloaded  but 
our  quarters  were  to  be  on  the  boat.  Here  we  spent 
several  days,  the  boys  passing  away  the  time  by 
bathing  in  the  bay  or  wandering  along  the  shore. 
We  would  have  gladly  welcomed  the  drill  now,  for 
we  were  cooped  up  like  chickens.  We  were  not  al- 
lowed passes  and  were  limited  to  docks  and  Picnic 
Island  which  was  a  short  distance  from  the  main 
pier.  Men  covered  these  places  in  groups  at  all 
hours  of  the  day,  telling  yarns,  playing  jokes,  and  in- 
venting all  sorts  of  schemes  to  while  away  the  time. 
One  afternoon  the  mules  were  again  brought  aboard, 
and  we  knew  this  meant  departure,  and  a  cheer  went 
up  as  we  saw  the  transports  filing  away  from  the 
pier.  We  were  not  long  in  crossing  the  bay,  and 
took  our  place  in  line;  our  boat  being  number  19. 
We  towed  behind  us  a  large  lighter  which  had  been 
secured  to  aid  us  in  landing  on  the  island. 

This  fleet  of  sixty-five  vessels  made  a  grand 
spectacle.  The  battleship  Indiana  was  to  lead  the 
convoy;  the  cruisers,  gunboats,  torpedo  boats  and 
torpedo  boat  destroyers  were  placed  along  side.  At 
dusk  we  were  out  of  sight  of  land,  torpedo  boats 
dodging  here  and  there  acting  as  scouts.  These 
boats  were  very  small;  not  much  of  their  top  was 
visible;  some  could  attain  the  speed  of  35  knots  an 
hour,  at  a  rate  of  one  and  one-fourth  mile  per  hour 
on  land.  Thus  they  could  travel  at  the  rate  of  more 
than  40  miles  an  hour.  There  were  about  19,000 
men  in  this  expedition,  which  included  almost  all  of 
the  Regular  Army.  Foreign  countries  had  sent 


58        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

military  attaches  who  were  on  board  a  fine  passenger 
steamer,  with  the  general  in  command.  The  cavalry, 
with  the  exception  of  one  troop  that  was  to  act  as 
messengers  and  mounted  orderlies,  were  to  proceed 
without  horses  in  the  same  manner  as  the  infantry. 

The  weather  throughout  the  voyage  was  very  mild, 
which  accounted  for  the  small  amount  of  seasick- 
ness. Within  two  days  we  were  passing  Dry  Tor- 
tugas,  a  point  off  the  southern  coast  of  Florida;  a 
small  island  which  contains  a  naval  station,  and  on 
which  fresh  water  can  be  obtained,  the  water  being 
transported  from  Key  West.  We  passed  to  the 
north  of  Cuba,  the  Bahama  Islands  on  our  left.  A 
good  many  of  the  boys  were  now  sick  but  no  extreme 
cases.  We  soon  came  in  sight  of  Cuba,  keeping  miles 
to  the  north. 

The  weather  was  now  extremely  hot,  and  the 
stench  which  arose  from  the  mule  quarters  was  ter- 
rible. These  were  all  loose  in  the  hold,  and  kept  up 
a  continual  kicking  and  squealing.  The  men  all  be- 
came anxious  to  land,  some  vowing  that  they  would 
never  again  board  another  transport.  This  boat 
had  been  a  cattle  freighter  and  had  been  fitted  up  in 
about  two  weeks'  time  for  our  use.  The  water  which 
had  been  taken  on  at  Port  Tampa  was  warm  and 
scarcely  fit  to  drink.  We  used  salt  water  for  bathing 
and  as  we  had  no  salt  water  soap,  had  a  trying  time 
to  keep  clean.  Our  faces  became  shiny  and  greasy. 
The  boats  were  kept  together  with  difficulty  as  we 
neared  the  windward  passage,  which  flows  between 
Cuba  and  Haiti  and  through  which  we  must  pass 
along  the  eastern  coast  of  Cuba  into  the  Carribean 
Sea.  It  was  impossible  now  to  keep  us  together  for 
it  was  windy  and  we  had  entered  the  rainy  belt,  re- 
ceiving showers  every  few  hours.  As  we  rounded 
the  southern  coast  of  Cuba,  the  lighter  which  we  had 
in  tow  became  separated  from  the  boat  and  was  lost. 
The  next  morning  when  we  awoke  there  were  no 


FAKEWKLL  TO  FORT  LOGAN.  59 

other  .boats  in  sight.  We  had  strayed  away  from  our 
fleet.  A  while  after  daylight  we  noticed  a  man  of 
war  approaching  us,  and  the  captain  who  had  been 
observing  the  ship  informed  us  that  it  was  a  United 
States  gunboat.  The  commander  ordered  our  cap- 
tain to  join  the  fleet  at  once.  As  we  neared  the  rest 
of  the  fleet  we  noticed  that  they  were  nearly  all  lying 
at  anchor.  We  were  not  far  from  the  coast,  and  soon 
heard  the  report  of  heavy  guns.  This  came  from  the 
direction  of  Elnora  Castle,  which  was  being  bom- 
barded by  United  States  gunboats.  The  navy  had 
sent  an  old  merchant  vessel  into  the  harbor  to 
blockade  it  and  prevent  escape  of  the  Spanish  fleet ; 
the  men  who  performed  this  work  were  captured  and 
it  was  thought  were  held  prisoners  in  this  old  castle 
on  the  bluff.  We  dropped  anchor  and  awaited  or- 
ders to  disembark. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LANDING  AT  BAIQUIEI OUR  FORCE  MARCHES  TO  LAS 

GUASIMAS THE    BATTLE    OF    EL    CANEY — 

CAPTURE    OF    SANTIAGO. 

FTER  waiting  a  day  before  Baiquiri,  we 
noticed  large  columns  of  smoke  ascend- 
ing from  on  shore.  At  this  little  village 
an  iron  ore  dock  extended  out  into  the 
water,  there  being  large  iron  mines  lo- 
cated near  the  village.  All  were  anxious  to  land,  as 
confinement  on  these  vessels  was  very  trying.  On 
the  morning  of  June  22d,  thousands  of  eager  eyes 
watched  the  shore,  hoping  for  the  command  to  land. 
We  knew  that  there  were  hardships  awaiting  us,  and 
that  some  of  our  number  would  never  return,  but  we 
were  only  kept  in  suspense  waiting  here.  Several 
gunboats  passed  between  us  and  the  shore,  and  in  a 
short  time  we  heard  a  booming  of  guns  which  caused 
great  excitment  among  the  boys.  They  were  bom- 
barding the  shore  where  we  were  to  land.  A  Span- 
ish blockhouse  was  situated  upon  a  high  hill  to  our 
right,  above  the  pier,  and  one  of  the  gunners  aboard 
one  of  the  gunboats  was  trying  his  marksmanship  on 
this.  He  was  soon  successful  in  his  attempt,  for 
after  placing  several  shots  very  near,  he  at  last  sent 
one  directly  against  it,  and  we  saw  a  shower  of  dust 
and  dirt  thrown  into  the  air.  The  sailors  aboard  our 
vessels  were  now  lowering  life  boats  and  when  the 
bombarding  ceased  we  ran  as  near  the  shore  as 
possible,  our  vessel  anchored  and  a  gangway  was 
placed  from  the  boat  to  the  water's  edge.  We  were 
taken  on  board  the  life  boats,  and  a  small  steam 
launch  which  the  navy  furnished  gave  us  a  line  and 
towed  us  in  to  shore,  which  was  one  mile  distant. 


62        ABOUND  THE  WOELD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

While  this  was  being  done,  the  hold  had  been  opened 
on  the  sides,  and  the  mules  were  dropped  into  the 
water,  allowing  them  to  swim  to  shore.  They  seemed 
to  be  as  eager  to  depart  from  their  unpleasant 
quarters  as  we  from  ours. 

As  we  neared  the  shore  there  were  many  there 
before  us,  and  we  noticed  our  flag  floating  nearby 
from  the  blockhouse  which  had  just  recently  been 
bombarded.  Our  captain  formed  us  in  company  and 
marched  us  on  to  join  our  regiment,  which  had  pre- 
ceded us  a  short  distance.  Six  days'  rations  were 
issued  to  each  one  of  us,  and  we  were  given  to  under- 
stand that  each  must  do  his  own  cooking  from  now 
on.  We  must  now  remain  at  the  place  to  which  we 
had  marched  until  our  brigade  was  formed,  and  this 
plan  suited  us  very  well  as  we  wanted  a  little  time  to 
observe  our  surroundings.  The  smoke  we  had  no- 
ticed was  partly  from  the  town  of  Baiquiri.  The 
Spanish  had  fired  the  barracks  before  departing 
from  the  small  garrison  there,  and  upon  learning  of 
our  intention  to  land  had  set  fire  to  almost  every- 
thing in  sight.  The  Cubans  now  began  to  make  their 
appearance,  and  very  pitiful  they  appeared  to  us, — 
hungry  and  ragged,  some  carrying  guns,  others 
machetes,  others  wooden  guns;  nearly  all  with  bare 
feet  and  bare  heads.  When  we  looked  at  them  they 
shrank  back  like  hunted  animals,  and  a  great  feeling 
of  pity  swelled  up  in  our  hearts  for  them.  We  now 
knew  that  the  stories  that  we  had  read  and  heard  of 
the  Spanish  cruelty  to  the  Cubans  must  be  true. 

With  such  evidence  as  this  before  us  we  no  longer 
doubted.  The  land  around  us  lay  waste,  nothing  in 
sight  in  a  state  of  cultivation.  And  the  only  thing 
we  found  that  was  eatable  was  cocoanuts,  which  lay 
around  in  immense  piles ;  and  we  being  fond  of  these, 
helped  ourselves.  Some  ate  too  many  and  became 
very  sick  with  cramps,  which  caused  the  remainder 
of  the  boys  to  be  more  cautious  as  to  what  they  ate. 


LANDING  AT  BAIQTJIKI.  63 

Our  rations  had  all  been  landed  now  and  on  re- 
ceiving ours  we  departed  from  Baiquiri,  and  began 
our  march  toward  Siboney  and  Santiago.  It  was 
late  in  the  afternoon  and  we  did  not  expect  to  pro- 
ceed far  on  the  march  that  day.  Our  course  led  up 
a  slight  rise  and  over  a  trail  surrounded  by  under- 
growth of  tropical  varieties,  past  cocoanut  trees, 
royal  palms,  and  many  with  which  we  were  not 
familiar.  After  marching  for  several  miles  we  came 
to  another  rise  in  the  trail  which  was  clear  of  under- 
brush and  near  a  stream  of  water.  Here  we  halted 
for  the  night,  every  one  bustling  around  trying  to 
find  wood  with  which  to  build  a  fire,  where  we  might 
cook  our  coffee  and  bacon.  After  supper  we  pitched 
our  tents  for  the  night,  and  the  rain  began  to  fall  in 
torrents.  My  "bunkie"  and  I  found  a  small  eleva- 
tion on  which  we  placed  our  tent  so  as  to  prevent  the 
water  from  standing  in  it.  But  neither  one  of  us 
could  sleep.  I  felt  as  though  I  was  surrounded  by 
nettles.  I  thought  perhaps  I  had  come  in  contact 
with  poison  oak — a  small  tree  which  grows  to  the 
height  of  ten  feet,  and  which  has  glistening  green 
leaves.  The  Cubans  had  warned  us  of  these,  for 
when  one  comes  in  contact  with  them,  the  skin  be- 
comes irritated  and  swollen  and  this  spreads  to  all 
parts  of  the  body.  I  asked  my  comrade  how  he  felt 
and  he  replied  that  he  was  miserable  and  could  not 
sleep.  After  a  while  he  arose  and  started  a  fire  be- 
side an  old  log,  placed  his  poncho  over  his  shoulders 
and  bent  over  the  fire.  I  lay  inside  the  tent  watching 
him.  He  sat  there  with  hands  and  arms  folded  and 
as  he  dozed  and  nodded  I  sometimes  feared  his  large 
hook  nose  would  strike  the  fire.  This  would  waken 
him  still,  but  directly  he  would  doze  off  again.  The 
burning  on  my  body  increased  so  much  that  I  felt 
sure  I  had  been  in  contact  with  the  poison  oak.  The 
rain  continued  to  pour  and  along  towards  three 
o  'clock  I  asked  Jack  why  he  did  not  come  inside  and 


64        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

lie  down.  He  replied,  that  he  would  remain  outside 
if  he  drowned,  that  he  believed  the  blamed  thing  was 
haunted.  I  began  to  think  so  myself,  for  as  I  rubbed 
my  body  it  smarted  and  burned.  I  could  not  stand  it 
any  longer,  so  I  crawled  out  and  joined  Jack  by  the 
fire.  He  informed  me  that  the  pricking  and  burning 
on  him  had  ceased.  I  scratched  around  the  log 
where  he  had  built  his  fire,  found  some  dry  leaves 
and  small  limbs  which  I  threw  on  the  smouldering 
fire.  As  it  blazed  up  brightly  I  opened  my  shirt  and 
rolled  up  my  sleeves.  On  examination  I  found  I  was 
covered  with  thousands  of  little  red  ants.  I  removed 
my  clothing,  placed  them  under  the  log  and  took  a 
shower  bath.  Jack  soon  followed  my  example,  but 
he  had  not  so  many  on  him  for  he  had  been  sitting 
out  nearly  all  night.  As  soon  as  daylight  came  we 
made  an  examination  of  our  camping  place  and 
found  that  we  had  pitched  our  tent  on  an  ant  hill. 
The  boys  all  came  round  to  see  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
turbance and  quickly  pronounced  it  the  first  battle 
in  Cuba.  But  my  comrade  and  I  were  fortunate 
after  all  for  we  had  a  good  fire  over  which  to  pre- 
pare our  breakfast,  and  then  loaned  it  to  the  other 
boys,  who  were  unsuccessful  in  their  attempts  to 
build  one.  After  daylight  the  rain  ceased  and  in  a 
short  time  we  continued  our  march  over  a  trail  or 
pathway,  toward  Siboney.  The  underbrush  was 
sometimes  so  thick  that  those  who  were  mounted 
were  compelled  to  dismount  and  lead  their  horses 
along  the  pathway.  Our  blankets  were  soaked,  and 
these  together  with  the  six  days'  rations,  one  hun- 
dred rounds  of  ammunition,  rifle  and  canteen  were 
very  burdensome  to  us,  and  we  continued  at  a  slow 
march. 

On  the  way  we  noticed  large  numbers  of  land 
crabs,  some  of  which  measured  a  foot  or  more  across 
the  back.  They  became  very  much  frightened  on  our 
approach  and  as  they  scrambled  out  of  our  way  their 


CAMP   AT   BROADMOOR   DURING    DEPARTMENT    COMPETITION. 


LANDING  AT  BAIQTJIBI.  65 

joints  cracked  and  squeaked — as  though  in  need  of 
oil.  We  noticed  lizards  and  birds  of  many  varieties 
that  we  had  never  seen  before  and  bugs  and  beetles 
that  squeaked,  and  which  kept  up  a  continual  din. 
After  several  hours '  march  we  reached  the  top  of  the 
hill  which  was  free  from  underbrush.  Passing  down 
the  other  side  of  the  slope  we  entered  a  beautiful 
grove,  containing  many  trees  of  varieties  which  were 
unknown  to  us.  They  stood  in  rows,  like  ranks  of 
uniformed  soldiers.  This  pleasant  place  had  once 
been  a  part  of  a  beautiful  plantation,  the  owner  of 
which  had  probably  been  loyal  to  the  Cuban  cause, 
which  resulted  in  the  destruction  of  his  property. 

We  learned  that  these  trees  were  royal  palms. 
They  sometimes  attain  the  height  of  sixty  feet  and 
resemble  an  umbrella,  the  long  palm  leaves  spread- 
ing out  at  the  top  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence. Four  of  five  feet  from  the  roots  is  a  large 
bulge  on  the  trunk  of  the  tree  which  somewhat  re- 
sembles a  barrel  or  hogshead,  the  color  of  which  is 
almost  white.  After  marching  some  distance  farther 
we  entered  a  cocoanut  grove,  where  we  halted  to 
camp  for  the  night.  The  order  to  camp  here  was 
welcome  news  to  us.  We  spread  our  tent  halves  out 
to  dry  and  orders  were  given  to  the  men,  not  to  pro- 
ceed far  from  camp.  We  then  began  to  observe  our 
surroundings.  The  tall  trees,  the  trunks  of  which 
were  free  from  limbs  except  in  the  top,  very  much 
resembling  the  royal  palm,  and  the  fruit  bunched  to- 
gether at  the  top  about  forty  feet  above  our  heads, 
from  which  position  they  could  not  be  secured  ex- 
cept by  climbing  the  trees,  this  being  a  rather  dim- 
cult  task.  Some  of  the  fruit  was  scattered  over  the 
ground  but  this  was  stale,  and  some  of  the  nuts  had 
burst  in  two,  the  shell  and  husk  sprouting  new  trees. 

About  one  hour  and  a  half  after  halting  a  mes- 
senger came  galloping  into  camp,  his  horse  foaming 
and  he  himself  laboring  under  great  excitement.  He 


66         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

inquired  for  General  Chaffee,  our  brigade  com- 
mander and  on  approaching  that  officer  handed  him 
a  rough  piece  of  paper.  A  bugler  was  summoned 
and  the  call  to  arms  was  given,  and  we  were  hustled 
into  line.  The  cavalry  division  which  had  landed  at 
Siboney  and  preceded  us  toward  Santiago,  had  been 
ambushed  and  were  being  cut  to  pieces,  and  we  were 
to  reenforce  them.  We  passed  through  Siboney 
where  the  Second  Massachusetts  were  busily  en- 
gaged in  intrenching  themselves.  They  guarded  the 
Siboney  landing.  Pushing  rapidly  on  we  heard  vol- 
ley after  volley  fired  in  the  distance.  There  were 
Cubans  along  the  trail  we  were  now  following,  cut- 
ting poles  and  brush  to  fill  in  the  swamps  so  our 
column  could  pass  over.  Our  men  were  endeavor- 
ing to  keep  together  in  the  line  of  march,  some  who 
were  almost  breathless  throwing  away  knapsacks 
and  other  articles  so  as  to  be  able  to  keep  up  with 
the  brigade  which  was  now  on  the  run.  Our  com- 
panies were  kept  together  in  good  order.  The  firing 
now  became  plainer  and  our  brigade  halted  for  a 
short  rest;  men  cut  open  tomato  cans  and  drank  as 
much  of  the  contents  as  they  could,  passing  the  re- 
mainder to  the  other  boys  so  as  to  be  relieved  of  a 
part  of  their  burden.  The  bugle  once  more  sounded 
forward  and  our  column  started  on  double  time,  our 
commander  leading  on  horseback.  The  firing  had 
almost  ceased  now  but  we  rushed  on,  some  of  the 
men  tumbling  out  of  the  line,  overcome  by  heat.  The 
trail  now  became  narrow  and  our  companies  pro- 
ceeded in  twos.  A  small  stream  was  reached  which 
flowed  between  two  steep  hills,  when  the  command 
to  halt  was  given  by  the  bugler;  blanket  rolls  and 
rations  were  ordered  removed  and  our  companies 
were  ready  for  action.  All  was  quiet  in  front  of  us, 
and  we  marched  again  to  the  foot  of  a  hill  where  we 
halted.  The  Spaniards  had  been  driven  back,  and 
the  first  battle,  that  of  Las  Ghiasimas,  was  over. 


LANDING  AT  BAIQUIBI.  67 

Our  rations  and  other  articles  were  again  secured 
and  we  started  to  follow  the  retreating  Spaniards. 
We  soon  came  to  the  field  hospitals  which  had  been 
erected  upon  the  bank  of  a  small  but  swift  stream, 
and  where  the  doctors  were  busily  engaged  in  band- 
aging and  dressing  wounds  amid  the  moans  and 
groans  of  the  wounded  men.  Some  who  had  been 
overcome  by  the  heat  were  raving  mad.  To  the  right 
of  the  trail  the  dead  were  placed,  upon  a  green  slope. 
They  numbered  twelve  or  fifteen,  and  had  been 
among  those  who  led  the  advance.  We  learned  that 
the  Spaniards  were  in  ambush  there,  but  had  been 
located  by  some  Cuban  scouts.  As  the  force  ad- 
vanced the  trail  became  narrow;  they  allowed 
twenty-five  or  more  of  the  advance  guard  to  pass  by 
before  they  opened  fire,  killing  and  wounding  many 
of  the  American  force.  The  troops  were  then 
formed,  but  the  dense  undergrowth  which  sur- 
rounded them  prevented  a  direct  advance  against 
the  enemy,  who  held  their  position  on  the  steep  hill- 
side covered  with  underbrush  and  dense  tropical 
growth.  After  flanking  them  they  drove  them  from 
their  position,  the  Spaniards  retreating  toward  San- 
tiago. Our  brigade  now  advanced  up  this  slope,  and 
was  not  long  in  reaching  the  top.  Before  us  spread 
a  broad  tableland  where  skirmishers  soon  advanced 
examining  all  places  where  it  was  believed  the  Span- 
iards might  be  located.  After  marching  one  and 
one-half  mile,  we  came  to  the  opposite  slope  of  the 
hill,  where  as  we  glanced  slightly  to  our  left  we  came 
in  full  view  of  Santiago.  No  Spaniards  in  sight. 
Here  on  the  edge  of  this  plateau  outposts  were 
placed  and  here  we  went  into  camp  for  the  night, 
several  miles  ahead  of  our  main  force  and  in  plain 
view  of  a  portion  of  Santiago,  which  was  perhaps 
eight  or  ten  miles  distant. 

The  cavalry  division  remained  behind  where  they 
had  been  ambushed,  taking  care  of  their  wounded 


68        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

and  burying  their  dead.  The  little  tableland  on 
which  we  camped  for  the  night  had  once  been  a  plan- 
tation, but  now  lay  waste,  covered  by  tall  grass, 
weeds  and  underbrush.  We  were  in  a  favorable  po- 
sition gainst  attack.  The  slope  below  us  was  steep 
and  the  paths  which  led  down  were  narrow  and 
rocky.  Far  off  below  us  extended  a  beautiful  valley 
in  which  we  could  see  the  ruins  of  a  plantation. 
Here  we  remained  for  several  days  until  the  remain- 
der of  the  troops  had  moved  up  and  gone  into  camp. 
One  evening  a  short  tune  after  this  we  broke  camp 
and  marched  in  the  direction  of  Santiago.  The  edge 
of  the  valley  into  which  we  advanced  was  covered 
by  thick  underbrush  and  tall  trees.  Our  entire  force 
moved  into  the  valley  to  prepare  for  the  advance 
toward  Santiago  and  El  Caney.  Our  rations  were 
brought  by  pack  mules  for  it  was  impossible  to  for- 
ward them  with  the  army  transportation  wagons. 
The  Cubans  were  busily  engaged  along  these  trails 
cutting  away  the  underbrush  and  our  field  batteries 
of  artillery  soon  began  to  arrive,  followed  by  am- 
bulances, and  then  later  by  the  transportation  wag- 
ons with  supplies.  These  moved  very  slowly  and 
with  great  difficulty  on  account  of  the  daily  rains 
making  the  roads  almost  impassable.  It  was  much 
easier  to  carry  the  supplies  with  the  pack  trains,  as 
four  or  five  men  could  handle  a  pack  train  of  fifty  or 
seventy-five  mules,  very  easily;  each  mule  was  able 
to  carry  500  pounds.  The  leader  of  a  pack  train  has 
a  bell  placed  around  its  neck  and  is  led  by  a  man 
mounted  on  another  steed.  If  the  rest  of  the  ani- 
mals stray  away  from  this  train  the  sound  of  the 
bell  guides  them  back  to  the  train ;  in  this  way  they 
are  easily  kept  together.  These  animals  passed 
over  the  rough  trails  with  apparent  ease. 

The  headquarters  of  General  Shafter,  commander 
of  the  expedition,  were  now  moved  to  this  place,  ac- 
companied by  scores  of  reporters  and  military  at- 


LANDING  AT  BAIQUIBI.  69 

taches.  Everything  was  placed  in  readiness  for  a 
great  battle.  One  morning  shortly  after  this,  my 
company  received  orders  to  roll  up  tents  and  fall  in. 
We  marched  out  beyond  camp  and  were  soon  follow- 
ing the  trail.  There  were  several  Cubans  with  us, 
also  our  brigade  commander.  We  followed  the 
stream  that  flowed  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  for  about 
one  mile.  Then  we  halted  and  outposts  were  placed 
at  the  intersection  of  two  trails,  one  of  which  led  to 
Santiago,  the  other  toward  El  Caney.  Several  Cu- 
bans remained  here  also,  as  they  understood  the  lay 
of  the  country  around  us.  On  the  road  leading  to 
Santiago  the  outposts  were  ordered  to  halt  no  one, 
but  fire  immediately  on  any  one  who  came  from  that 
direction.  On  the  other  trail  however  we  were  to  be 
careful,  as  Cubans  were  located  in  that  direction  and 
scouting  parties  were  sent  out  and  returned  from 
that  direction.  In  camp  here,  we  must  be  very  care- 
ful about  our  fires.  The  company  was  some  dis- 
tance from  the  outposts  who  were  relieved  every 
four  hours.  The  rain  continued  to  fall,  and  owing 
to  the  very  heavy  downpour  we  remained  on  out- 
post duty  here  for  two  days.  This  is  usually  a  dis- 
agreeable duty,  for  it  is  a  strain  on  the  men  to  be 
continually  on  the  watch  for  the  enemy.  After  two 
days  we  were  relieved  by  company  D  of  our  regi- 
ment and  we  returned  to  the  main  camp,  where  we 
drew  five  days '  rations. 

It  was  not  necessary  to  again  pitch  tents  as  our 
division  under  command  of  General  Lawton  was  to 
advance  in  the  direction  of  El  Caney,  bivouac  for  the 
night  as  near  to  that  place  as  possible  and  at  day- 
break make  an  attack  on  the  place ;  then  proceed  to  a 
small  village  several  miles  beyond,  where  the  water 
supply  station  of  Santiago  was  located.  It  was  be- 
lieved that  if  their  water  supply  was  cut  off  the  city 
could  be  more  easily  captured.  At  about  four 
o  'clock  on  the  evening  of  June  30th,  we  marched  out 


70         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

along  a  narrow  road  which  passed  through  a  rough 
and  hilly  section.  About  dusk  a  part  of  our  division 
halted,  our  brigade  continuing  the  march  for  several 
miles,  where  we  bivouacked  for  the  night — stacking 
our  arms  and  lying  down  directly  behind  them.  No 
fires  were  permitted  as  we  were  now  only  a  short 
distance  from  El  Caney.  Sentinels  were  placed  on 
the  nearest  elevations,  and  no  one  in  camp  talked 
aloud.  Everything  in  camp  was  still.  The  second 
lieutenant  of  my  company  who  was  acting  regi- 
mental quartermaster,  had  secured  a  mule  which  he 
rode  when  on  the  march.  It  was  placed  in  a  small 
hollow  just  a  little  to  our  right.  We  were  all  asleep 
and  this  animal  broke  away  from  the  place  where  it 
had  been  tethered.  After  wandering  around  he  had 
become  frightened  and  came  bellowing  and  roaring 
through  the  camp.  This  awoke  us  and  frightened 
every  one ;  the  men  made  a  dash  for  their  guns.  We 
all  thought  the  Spaniards  had  made  a  charge  on  our 
camp,  when  some  one  called  out,  "hold  on  there !  it's 
a  blamed  mule!"  They  captured  him  and  again 
tethered  him  in  the  hollow,  some  of  the  boys  threat- 
ening to  cut  his  throat.  Again  all  was  quiet  until 
three  in  the  morning,  when  we  were  quietly 
awakened,  ate  our  hardtack  and  cold  tomatoes  and 
were  soon  in  line,  following  a  narrow  trail  single  file. 
We  were  soon  strung  out  for  miles.  We  crossed  over 
hills,  through  small  valleys  and  across  small  streams. 
Light  in  the  east  became  stronger,  and  we  could  now 
distinguish  large  trees  on  the  hills.  These  were  cov- 
ered with  yellow  fruit,  which  we  learned  were  man- 
gos. The  doctors  had  warned  us  concerning  this  fruit. 
They  somewhat  resembled  an  apple,  were  juicy  and 
had  a  large  seed  in  the  center.  They  looked  very 
tempting  as  we  passed  along,  but  we  were  not  per- 
mitted to  leave  the  trail.  It  had  now  grown  lighter 
when  suddenly  we  heard  a  loud  boom  from  the  can- 
non. Capron's  battery  had  opened  fire  on  El  Caney. 


LANDING  AT  BAIQUIBI.  71 

Our  pace  quickened.  We  were  to  attack  on  the 
right.  The  long,  thin  blue  line  of  men  crossing  the 
hills  and  twisting  around  through  valleys  must  have 
resembled  a  huge  snake  making  its  way  over  the  sur- 
face. We  could  hear  the  sharp  crack  of  small  arms 
mingled  with  the  continuous  roar  of  the  artillery  as 
we  neared  the  place.  When  we  came  to  a  ridge  we 
could  see  men  in  blue  far  off  to  our  left  sticking  their 
heads  up  over  and  firing.  As  we  descended  the 
slope  of  the  ridge,  our  line  advanced  in  full  range  of 
a  block  house,  which  was  located  across  a  small  ra- 
vine on  the  hillside  to  our  right.  As  we  came  in 
view  their  bullets  began  clipping  the  leaves  around 
us,  but  we  continued  our  march  paying  no  heed  to 
this.  The  battalion  of  Cubans  following  us  was  to 
attack  this  place  and  capture  it,  as  it  was  believed 
that  would  not  be  difficult  to  accomplish.  As  we 
passed  along  a  45  brass  Remington  bullet  struck  one 
of  my  comrades  above  the  ankle,  shattering  the  bone 
and  leaving  an  ugly  wound.  We  halted  for  a  mo- 
ment to  remove  blanket  rolls,  blouses  and  rations, 
going- on  in  our  shirt  sleeves. 

As  we  neared  the  foot  of  the  hill  the  firing  became 
heavy.  We  could  see  nothing  at  which  to  fire,  but 
noticed  on  the  trees,  large  pieces  of  corrugated  iron 
used  to  mark  the  range  of  the  Spaniards.  Under  a 
large  mango  tree  we  found  several  dead,  and  a  num- 
ber of  wounded.  We  had  yet  a  small  steep  grade  to 
descend  where  a  little  to  our  left  was  a  large  stone 
fort,  over  which  floated  the  yellow  and  red  flag  of 
the  Spanish.  From  the  loopholes  just  beneath  it, 
bullets  were  pouring  out  like  rain.  Men  were  drop- 
ping around  us.  We  now  came  into  an  open  space, 
and  then  we  crossed  a  small  stream.  In  this  gully 
one  was  not  exposed  so  much  to  the  fire  of  the  Span- 
iards. Along  this  stream  a  field  hospital  had  been 
established  and  men  were  being  carried  in  by  the 
score.  Our  regiment  was  lined  up  and  advanced  up 


72         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

a  gradual  slope  to  a  pineapple  field,  and  we  were 
again  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  Spanish.  The 
Twelfth  Infantry  on  our  left  was  now  firing  volleys 
into  the  fort.  We  had  come  within  about  four  hun- 
dred yards ;  men  were  ducking  behind  ranges  or  any- 
where to  get  out  of  the  range  of  fire.  It  had  become 
so  terrible  that  one  could  not  talk  except  by  shout- 
ing. We  crossed  this  pineapple  field,  gained  the  top 
of  the  hill  and  formed  a  line,  along  where  it  curved 
slightly  to  the  west.  Just  across  a  small  ravine  on 
a  low  hill  there  lay  El  Caney,  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  distant.  The  buildings  in  this  little  vil- 
lage were  nearly  all  constructed  of  stone  and  ce- 
ment; one  looking  over  it  could  see  temporary  loop- 
holes opened  in  the  walls  from  which  a  heavy  fire 
was  pouring.  Directly  in  front  of  us  were  two  or 
three  blockhouses;  the  dirt  was  thrown  up  in  front 
of  these  ten  or  fifteen  feet  high;  in  front  of  that 
were  intrenchments.  We  were  ordered  to  fire  at 
will,  and  it  was  certainly  terrible  the  racket  and  roar 
this  was  creating. 

We  could  see  nothing  to  fire  at,  except  buildings 
and  blockhouses,  for  no  Spaniards  were  in  sight. 
The  two  other  brigades  of  our  division  were  attack- 
ing on  our  left,  continuing  nearly  opposite  from 
where  we  were.  We  stuck  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  lying 
prone ;  the  Seventeenth  Infantry  to  our  right.  Men 
were  being  carried  back  wounded.  Every  man  was 
supplied  with  first  aid  bandages  for  the  wounded 
and  these  were  being  used  up  rapidly.  Our  brigade 
commander  would  pass  along  with  his  field  glass  in 
hand,  directing  fire  from  time  to  time.  There  was 
no  hope  of  charging,  as  barbed  wire  entanglements 
were  strung  in  every  direction  in  front  of  us,  and  it 
was  certain  death  to  any  one  who  attempted  to  pass 
over  the  line  of  the  hill.  No  smoke  was  visible,  as 
our  ammunition  was  smokeless  powder,  as  was  also 
the  Spaniards'.  No  one  was  noticing  time  and  it 


CAl'T.    CHAS.    A.    WORUEN    LOOKING    FROM    A   DESERTED    HOUSE. 


LANDING  AT  BAIQUIEI.  73 

was  slipping  away  rapidly.  Our  artillery  moved 
up  closer  and  along  in  the  afternoon  a  shell  pierced 
the  flag-staff  on  the  stone  fort  and  the  Spanish 
colors  fell  to  the  ground.  They  began  racking  this 
old  fort  with  solid  shot  and  shrapnel  and  it  began  to 
have  an  effect ;  the  fire  had  become  weaker  from  that 
point. 

In  the  central  part  of  the  village  was  a  church. 
Orders  had  been  given  not  to  fire  on  this,  but  there 
was  so  much  sharpshooting  going  on  that  the  order 
was  countermanded  and  the  fire  was  directed  against 
this  cupola.  And  now  we  began  to  notice  a  few  Span- 
iards dropping,  but  the  fire  was  not  quite  so  heavy. 
Soon  the  stars  and  stripes  were  waving  from  the 
fort,  and  a  little  later  white  flags  began  to  appear  in 
the  village. 

For  a  half  hour  our  battalion  had  been  firing  vol- 
leys, for  our  ammunition  was  running  low,  and  we 
must  take  the  plan  that  would  bring  the  greatest  re- 
sults. At  dusk  the  battalion  to  which  we  belonged 
was  ordered  back  off  the  line.  The  firing  had  almost 
ceased  and  we  marched  away  to  secure  ammunition. 

We  marched  back  until  we  met  a  pack  train  at  the 
fork  of  the  road,  where  we  secured  a  fresh  supply  of 
ammunition  and  then  proceeded  on  our  way  back  to- 
ward El  Caney.  Near  that  place  we  passed  the  re- 
mainder of  our  regiment,  which  had  captured  sev- 
eral hundred  Spanish  soldiers.  When  we  reached 
the  battleground,  five  companies  were  left  there  to 
take  care  of  the  wounded  and  bury  the  dead.  The 
rest  of  our  division  and  brigade  marched  on  toward 
San  Juan  hill,  where  there  had  been  severe  fighting 
all  day.  They  had  called  upon  Lawton's  division  to 
support  them  and  prevent  retreat.  My  company 
remained  at  El  Caney.  We  soon  had  our  guards 
out,  and  it  was  not  long  until  all  were  ready  for 
sleep,  for  we  were  almost  exhausted.  When  we 
awoke  in  the  morning,  we  seemed  to  be  in  a  dream, 


74        ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

for  the  results  of  the  previous  day's  battle  were  yet 
visible  in  every  direction.  As  we  rubbed  our  eyes 
and  looked  toward  the  top  of  the  hill  we  saw  a  line  of 
men  lying  where  our  line  of  battle  had  been  formed 
the  previous  day.  About  fifty  bodies  were  lying 
there  on  the  hill  top  and  in  the  ravine  below  was  the 
hospital,  where  several  hundred  wounded  men  were 
being  cared  for.  Doctors  and  nurses  were  busy  at- 
tending their  needs.  Men  were  at  work  building  a 
large  trench  on  the  hill,  and  when  this  was  accom- 
plished the  dead  were  placed  in  it,  side  by  side,  a 
slip  of  paper  with  name  of  regiment  and  company 
was  placed  on  them,  they  were  then  rolled  in  blan- 
kets, placed  in  the  trench,  and  covered  over  with 
earth.  This  took  almost  all  day. 

The  dead  in  our  company  were  Sergeant  Jones 
and  Privates  Head,  Sandburg,  Vane,  who  was  our 
company  tailor,  and  Tomanus,  the  barber  of  the  com- 
pany. Tomanus  had  acted  strangely  for  more  than 
a  week  before  the  battle.  He  had  with  him  several 
fine  razors,  which,  together  with  his  other  belong- 
ings, he  took  one  day  to  our  lieutenant  and  told  him 
how  to  dispose  of  them,  remarking  at  the  time  that 
he  never  expected  to  come  out  of  the  first  battle 
alive.  Lieutenant  Nichols  told  him  that  he  was  only 
a  little  nervous,  but  Tomanus  insisted  that  he  was 
not  afraid,  but  felt  that  his  first  battle  would  be  his 
last.  So  here,  when  the  American  flag  was  raised 
on  the  old  Spanish  fort,  he  became  excited,  rose  to 
his  knees  and  began  to  cheer.  A  Spanish  sharp- 
shooter, from  the  cupola  of  the  church  in  El  Caney, 
shot  him  through  the  heart.  The  shot  pierced  the 
corner  of  his  wife's  photograph,  which  he  carried  in 
the  left  pocket  of  his  blue  army  shirt. 

Our  regiment  suffered  pretty  heavily,  having  had 
forty-seven  killed  and  one  hundred  and  thirty 
wounded.  After  we  had  buried  our  dead,  we  began 
to  explore  the  village  of  El  Caney.  The  village  was 


LANDING  AT  BAIQTJIRI.  75 

filled  with  dead  and  wounded  Spaniards.  The 
church  was  turned  into  a  hospital  and  a  detail  of 
men  from  our  battalion  was  sent  with  several  doc- 
tors to  bury  their  dead  and  care  for  the  wounded. 
The  village  was  full  of  Cubans — men,  women  and 
children,  who  were  half  starved  and  half  naked. 
The  men  were  gathered  up  from  around  the  village 
to  help  bury  the  dead  Spaniards  in  intrenchments, 
around  the  blockhouses  and  town,  from  which  places 
they  had  poured  such  a  deadly  fire.  Almost  every- 
one who  had  been  in  this  garrison  had  been  cap- 
tured, killed  or  wounded.  General  Vera  del  Ray, 
who  had  been  in  command,  with  his  staff  of  eight  of- 
ficers, were  found  at  the  edge  of  the  town,  dead. 
They  had  tried  to  escape,  but  had  been  shot  by  a 
volley  from  an  American  company.  Some  of  the 
men  who  composed  his  staff  were  wounded  in  four 
or  five  places. 

Cubans  were  set  to  work  at  clearing  up  the  streets 
and  we  occupied  the  time  in  destroying  the  Mauser 
rifles  and  ammunition  which  we  found.  Many  Span- 
ish flags  were  found,  but  no  one  paid  any  heed  to 
them,  for  we  had  very  heavy  loads  to  carry  without 
trying  to  gather  souvenirs. 

The  severe  climate  had  now  begun  to  tell  on  our 
captain;  he  acted  queerly  at  times.  A  member  of 
the  company  had  captured  a  large  Spanish  mule, 
which  the  captain  secured  from  him  and  loaded  with 
souvenirs  of  every  description.  Some  of  the  boys 
claimed  that  he  even  had  a  Mauser  rifle  tied  to  the 
mule's  tail.  One  day  the  captain  was  missing,  and 
several  details  were  sent  out  to  search  for  him.  He 
was  found  about  one  mile  beyond  the  town,  near  a 
Spanish  blockhouse,  sitting  with  his  back  against  a 
tree,  sound  asleep.  His  mule  he  had  tied  to  a  small 
bush,  after  loading  him  down  with  all  sorts  of 
articles.  He  was  almost  sixty  years  old  and  the  cli- 
mate was  too  severe  for  him. 


76        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

On  the  morning  of  July  3rd,  we  constructed 
stretchers  from  poles,  blankets  and  shelter  tents,  to 
remove  our  wounded  to  a  point  about  three  miles 
from  El  Caney,  which  was  as  near  as  our  ambu- 
lances and  army  wagons  could  approach  to  that 
village.  The  roads  were  impassable  except  by  way 
of  Cabeti  and  Santiago,  but  Spaniards  lay  between 
those  points  and  El  Caney,  cutting  off  approach  in 
that  direction.  It  took  all  available  men  to  hold  San 
Juan  hill  at  that  time,  so  we  were  compelled  to  carry 
our  wounded  on  improvised  stretchers,  to  the  point 
where  ambulances  were  in  waiting.  From  there 
they  were  conveyed  to  Siboney,  where  hospitals  had 
been  established. 

About  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  we  heard  the 
booming  of  large  guns,  which  sounded  like  the  roll 
of  thunder  in  the  distance.  This  continued  for  sev- 
eral hours  and  then  the  sound  died  away  like  the 
passing  of  a  thunder  storm.  We  were  unable  to  de- 
termine what  had  happened,  but  thought  that  the 
navy  had  probably  bombarded  Elnora  Castle,  or 
had  attempted  to  enter  Santiago  harbor. 

As  time  passed  by  we  became  anxious  about  get- 
ting our  wounded  away,  as  the  Cubans  informed  us 
that  General  Pando  was  marching  toward  Santiago 
with  six  or  seven  thousand  Spanish  soldiers.  We 
were  not  far  from  their  supposed  line  of  march  and 
were  liable  to  be  attacked  at  almost  any  time.  But 
if  this  occurred,  we  expected  to  hold  them  back  by 
holding  the  old  stone  fort  upon  the  hill.  There  were 
five  companies,  numbering  about  400  men.  We  had 
burned  all  of  the  blockhouses  around  the  village, 
eight  or  ten  in  number. 

It  took  the  help  of  every  man  in  the  battalion  to 
carry  the  wounded  to  the  ambulances.  We  arrived 
at  the  wagons  at  noon.  There  we  learned  that  Cer- 
vera's  fleet  had  been  destroyed  when  he  had  at- 
tempted to  leave  the  harbor.  Every  boat  had  been 


LANDING  AT  BAIQITIRI.  77 

sunk  or  captured.  Our  wounded  were  placed  in  the 
ambulances  and  wagons  and  were  soon  on  their  way 
to  Siboney,  where  they  were  to  be  taken  on  hospital 
boats,  bound  for  the  United  States.  When  all  ex- 
cept ten  or  twelve  had  been  placed  on  the  wagons, 
we  heard  firing  in  the  direction  of  El  Caney,  coming 
nearer  and  nearer.  Our  wounded  became  fright- 
ened, a  line  was  formed  behind  them,  and  soon  a 
company  of  eight  drunken  Cuban  soldiers  appeared. 
They  were  mounted  on  Spanish  ponies  and  shouting 
"Cuba  Libre"  at  the  top  of  their  voices  as  they 
passed.  We  felt  like  giving  them  a  volley,  but  let 
them  pass  on  unmolested,  for  they  were  going  in  the 
direction  of  Santiago,  and  we  knew  if  they  pro- 
ceeded much  further  in  that  direction  would  soon 
meet  with  a  volley  from  the  Spanish  guns.  We  fin- 
ished loading  our  wounded  comrades  and  then 
waited  for  orders.  They  soon  came.  We  were  or- 
dered back  to  El  Caney,  which  point  we  were  to  hold 
until  further  orders  were  given.  We  marched  back 
and  went  into  camp  on  the  battleground,  a  strong 
guard  being  placed  around  the  fort.  Large  flocks  of 
vultures  had  gathered  around  the  place;  they  were 
perched  upon  trees  and  would  sometimes  fly  so  near 
that  one  could  feel  the  air  caused  by  the  motion  of 
their  wings.  They  somewhat  resembled  the  turkey 
buzzard,  but  were  much  larger.  Dead  bodies  that 
had  not  been  found  in  the  underbrush  were  soon  dis- 
covered by  these  evil-looking  birds,  which  gathered 
around  these  places  in  large  numbers,  fighting  and 
squawking — making  a  hideous  racket. 

A  day  or  so  after  returning  to  camp,  we  saw  a 
long  line  of  people  coming  toward  us  from  the  direc- 
tion of  Santiago.  Some  carried  white  bundles  of 
clothing,  others  furniture  of  every  description;  oth- 
ers came  in  carriages.  These  were  refugees  from 
Santiago.  A  truce  had  been  agreed  upon  between 
the  Spanish  and  Americans,  and  all  non-combatants 


78         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

were  permitted  to  leave  the  city.  Thousands  made 
their  way  to  El  Caney,  which  had  now  been  thor- 
oughly cleaned  and  was  in  a  respectable  condition. 

Here  came  the  French  and  other  foreign  consuls, 
who  established  their  headquarters  in  the  village. 
All  who  came  under  their  jurisdiction  must  be  sup- 
plied with  rations.  They  told  us  there  was  nothing 
to  be  had  in  Santiago  and  that  the  Spanish  soldiers 
in  that  city  were  on  half  rations.  This  increase  in 
population  in  the  village  would  sorely  tax  our  com- 
missary department,  there  being  20,000  extra  per- 
sons to  be  fed.  Up  until  this  time  we  had  been  well 
supplied  with  every  article  which  came  in  our  list  of 
rations,  except  salt.  That  had  been  overlooked  in 
transportation,  and  soon  bacon  was  at  a  premium  on 
account  of  the  salt  it  contained,  many  of  the  men 
eating  it  raw.  After  the  refugees  had  arrived,  two 
troops  of  the  Ninth  Cavalry  came  to  relieve  us  and 
we  marched  across  the  broad  valley  to  the  foot  of 
San  Juan  hill,  and  joined  our  regiment  just  beyond, 
on  a  low  hill  which  sloped  toward  the  Spanish  in- 
trenchments  in  front  of  Santiago.  Here  we  were 
supplied  with  picks  and  shovels  and  set  to  work  dig- 
ging intrenchments,  with  approaches  extending  back 
toward  our  camp,  which  lay  along  the  hillside. 
These  intrenchments  were  drained  perfectly  dry. 
Sand  bags  were  filled  and  it  was  not  long  until  they 
were  in  first-class  condition. 

The  Twelfth  Infantry  was  intrenched  on  our  left ; 
the  Seventeenth  on  our  right.  The  hill  on  our  right 
extended  almost  to  the  bay,  thus  partly  encircling 
the  city.  Intrenchments  were  being  made  all  around 
the  slope  of  the  hill,  artillery  being  placed  in  po- 
sition about  one-half  mile  apart.  The  truce  still 
continued. 

The  Americans  in  the  meantime  were  trying  to 
persuade  the  Spanish  to  surrender,  insisting  that  it 
was  useless  to  try  to  escape  from  the  city,  being  so 


LANDING  AT  BAIQTJIBI.  79 

completely  surrounded.  One  of  the  foreign  consuls 
brought  his  influence  to  bear  upon  the  Spanish, 
backed  by  the  Catholic  priests,  and  every  argument 
was  used  to  persuade  them  to  give  up  the  struggle. 
In  the  meantime,  however,  both  Spanish  and  Amer- 
icans were  busily  engaged  in  digging  intrenchments, 
and  every  point  of  vantage  was  fortified  and  im- 
placements  for  artillery  made.  To  our  left  and  be- 
tween the  two  lines  stood  a  large  tree,  and  there 
floated  the  flag  of  truce.  Every  day  officers  from 
both  sides  assembled  beneath  it,  trying  to  arrange 
some  peaceable  settlement.  Our  camp  and  intrench- 
ments were  now  in  very  good  condition.  A  clear 
stream  of  water  flowed  along  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
from  which  we  received  our  supply. 

On  July  10th,  we  were  ordered  into  the  intrench- 
ments, and  at  four  o'clock  a  signal  gun  was  fired, 
and  soon  amid  the  booming  of  cannon  our  regiment 
began  to  fire  volleys  against  the  Spanish  trenches. 
The  fire  was  not  returned  and  a  diligent  watch  was 
kept  throughout  the  night.  A  battery  of  Spanish 
artillery  lay  between  us  and  the  city.  The  next 
morning  they  opened  fire  on  us;  Capron's  battery 
soon  located  them,  and  before  an  hour  had  passed, 
they  silenced  them.  On  this  day  very  little  firing 
was  done  except  by  the  artillery,  which  continued  to 
shell  the  city,  assisted  by  the  navy,  which  was  eight 
miles  away  and  which  dropped  shells  in  every  part 
of  the  city.  Ee-enforcements  began  to  arrive,  con- 
sisting of  volunteers.  Our  regiment  was  ordered 
out  of  the  intrenchments,  the  First  Illinois  taking 
its  place. 

As  we  moved  out  the  flag  of  truce  was  again 
raised.  We  marched  about  four  miles  to  the  right 
until  we  reached  the  Santiago  and  San  Luis  railway; 
a  part  of  the  division  continued  to  march  toward 
the  bay,  but  our  battalion  must  dig  intrenchments 
in  the  low,  swampy  region  surrounding  the  railroad. 


80        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

This  was  a  rather  difficult  undertaking,  for  each  day 
we  received  heavy  showers  of  rain.  Our  rations 
were  diminishing  rapidly,  and  men  were  searching 
every  place  for  something  to  eat.  I  had  to  make 
several  trips  to  brigade  headquarters  with  my  squad 
before  I  was  successful  in  securing  rations,  and  then 
the  supply  was  small ;  the  hardtack  was  first  counted 
before  it  was  passed  to  each  man.  The  truce  con- 
tinued for  several  days  longer,  and  during  this  time 
we  received  a  visit  from  General  Nelson  A.  Miles, 
commander  of  the  army,  who  came  to  inspect  our 
line  of  defense.  He  came  with  a  large  expedition 
from  the  U.  S.  It  was  decided  that  this  expedition 
was  not  needed  on  the  island,  and  they  later  em- 
barked fo'r  Porto  Eico.  It  was  believed  that  the 
Spanish  would  soon  surrender,  for  we  had  control 
of  the  water  supply  of  the  city,  from  which  we  had 
cut  them  off. 

The  evil  effects  of  the  campaign  had  now  begun  to 
tell  upon  the  men  of  our  regiment.  They  were  suf- 
fering from  the  extreme  changes  of  the  weather, 
which  occurred  each  day,  usually  a  heavy  downpour 
of  rain,  followed  by  the  hot,  glaring  sunshine.  Our 
position  in  the  swamp,  where  we  puddled  in  the 
water  from  day  to  day,  did  not  improve  us  any. 

One  afternoon  a  messenger  announced  the  sur- 
render of  the  Spanish.  This  was  welcome  news  to 
us,  but  we  were  still  kept  in  the  intrenchments  for 
fear  they  should  change  their  view  in  regard  to  sur- 
rendering. On  the  morning  of  July  19,  1898,  we 
were  marched  out  of  our  intrenchments,  and  amid 
the  playing  of  bands  and  cheering  of  soldiers,  the 
American  flag  was  raised  above  the  city,  and  the 
province  of  Santiago  de  Cuba  had  surrendered  to 
the  American  army. 


BATTALION   RETREAT  IN   A   FIELD  CAMP. 


CHAPTER  V. 

AWAITING    OUE    TEANSPOET HOME    AGAIN SAILING    FOE 

MANILA. 

FTER  the  excitement  caused  by  the  sur- 
render had  passed,  our  boys  seemed  to 
collapse.  Our  camp  was  moved  back 
several  hundred  yards  to  a  slight  eleva- 
tion and  orders  were  issued  to  build 
bunks  off  the  ground.  It  was  a  very  easy  matter 
to  issue  such  orders,  but  to  see  that  they  were 
obeyed,  quite  another  thing.  There  were  only  two 
or  three  large  axes  and  a  dozen  or  more  hand  axes 
in  the  camp,  but  men  were  set  to  work  with  these,  cut- 
ting poles.  Sickness  increased  in  camp,  and  a  yellow 
fever  doctor  was  sent  for.  After  diagnosing  several 
cases,  he  announced  that  our  camp  was  infested  with 
yellow  fever.  Orders  were  given  to  break  camp,  pro- 
ceed along  the  railroad  until  we  reached  Cabeti; 
from  there  go  into  camp  in  the  hills.  Many  of  the 
boys  could  not  stand  the  march,  so  were  left  there, 
and  a  temporary  hospital  was  established.  We  bade 
our  sick  comrades  good-bye — it  was  the  last  time  for 
some  of  them — and  proceeded  to  the  hills  around 
Cabeti. 

We  marched  to  the  top  of  a  long  ridge,  where  we 
went  into  camp.  We  now  received  large  quantities 
of  fresh  beef  and  an  abundant  supply  of  rations. 
Large  tents  were  brought  out  from  Santiago  and 
new  khaki  uniforms  were  furnished  to  us.  The  camp 
was  in  good  condition,  but  sickness  still  increased. 
Our  regiment's  loss  was  three  and  four  each  day. 
Many  of  the  men  had  the  fever,  others  malaria. 

Men  who  had  been  left  at  the  hospital  began  to  ar- 
rive at  camp  and  told  us  of  the  suffering  and  deaths 


82         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

which  occurred  there  each  day.  Some  of  the  regi- 
ments had  already  departed  for  the  United  States, 
bound  for  Montauk  Point,  where  hospitals  had  been 
established,  and  the  sick  were  to  be  cared  for.  We 
eagerly  awaited  orders  to  embark,  but  were  disap- 
pointed for  many  days.  The  two  regiments,  which 
with  our  own,  formed  our  brigade,  had  been  sent 
home,  and  it  looked  as  if  we  were  destined  to  stay  on 
the  island.  Our  captain  became  very  ill,  before  the 
surrender,  and  was  sent  to  Siboney  hospital;  our 
first  lieutenant  had  been  wounded  in  the  foot  and  a 
lieutenant  from  B  company  was  placed  in  command. 
Hospital  tents  were  placed  near  the  camp  and  the 
sick  moved  there.  The  boys  dreaded  being  sent  to 
these,  as  they  received  very  poor  attention  there. 
Men  were  detailed  from  each  company  to  act  as 
nurses,  the  hospital  corps  not  being  able  to  supply 
a  sufficient  number. 

All  of  the  other  regiments  which  had  landed  with 
the  first  expedition,  had  now  returned  to  the  United 
States,  and  one  day  we  received  the  order  to  leave. 
We  were  to  take  the  train  at  Cabeti  for  Santiago  and 
there  board  the  transport  bound  for  home. 

The  following  day  we  boarded  the  little  flat  cars 
which  were  drawn  by  a  rough  looking  little  engine. 
Everything  was  left  behind,  except  rifles  and  am- 
munition belts.  Our  tents  were  to  be  destroyed. 
Before  we  had  proceeded  far,  we  saw  hundreds  of 
Cubans  searching  the  tents  for  articles  we  had  left. 
We  passed  our  old  campground,  getting  a  view  of 
the  intrenchments  which  were  alongside  the  railway, 
then  of  the  Spanish  trenches  and  blockhouses  with 
all  sorts  of  wire  entanglements,  but  these  were  all 
deserted. 

As  we  entered  the  city  we  passed  the  guards  of 
the  immune  regiments,  which  were  stationed  in  all 
parts  of  the  city.  Many  Spanish  prisoners  roamed 
about,  waiting  for  boats  to  transport  them  home. 


HOME  AGAIN.  83 

They  were  very  friendly ;  many  of  them  shook  hands 
with  us,  making  us  understand  that  they  were  anx- 
ious to  leave.  The  city  was  in  a  filthy  condition 
and  would  require  an  immense  lot  of  work  to  put  it 
in  good  sanitary  condition.  We  boarded  the  trans- 
port, Yucatan,  and  were  to  sail  for  home  next  morn- 
ing. There  were  only  half  our  number  returning  on 
the  boat  together,  and  a  part  of  these  were  sick.  As 
we  moved  out  of  the  harbor  next  day  our  band, 
which  now  numbered  only  ten  played  Home,  Sweet 
Home. 

We  passed  the  Merrimac  and  a  sunken  Spanish 
vessel  which  men  were  engaged  in  raising.  When 
we  reached  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  we  turned  to 
look  at  Elnora  Castle,  high  up  on  a  rocky  bluff,  and 
over  which  floated  the  stars  and  stripes.  The  last 
objects  I  remember  seeing  on  the  voyage  were  the 
wrecks  of  the  Spanish  boats,  and  then  I  remembered 
nothing  until  I  was  being  carried  from  the  boat  at 
Montauk  Point,  six  days  later.  I  had  a  very  severe 
attack  of  the  fever,  but  now  began  to  recover  slowly. 

Ambulances  conveyed  the  sick  from  the  boat  to 
the  hospital  and  there  we  were  placed  under  care  of 
Sisters.  We  improved  very  rapidly,  and  after  a 
week  in  the  hospital,  I  made  application  for  fur- 
lough, and  in  a  few  days  arrived  at  my  home  in 
Eastern  Ohio.  There  I  was  sick  for  several  weeks, 
but  with  good  care,  soon  began  to  improve.  At  the 
end  of  two  months  I  reported  at  Columbus  barracks, 
and  received  transportation  to  Fort  Wayne,  Mich- 
igan, which  is  along  the  Detroit  river,  in  the  sub- 
urbs of  the  city.  There,  early  in  November,  I  re- 
ported for  duty.  Our  company  was  small  now,  over 
half  of  the  men  being  out  on  furlough. 

There  were  many  recruits  to  be  drilled,  and  soon 
we  were  busy  again,  drilling  the  new  men  and  put- 
ting things  in  shape.  We  had  a  new  captain,  and 
new  lieutenants.  Our  former  captain  had  died  at 


84        ABOUND  THE  WOELD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

his  home  in  Fort  Logan,  the  climate  and  exposure 
in  Cuba  having  been  too  severe  for  him.  The  boys 
of  our  company  were  sorry  to  learn  of  his  death,  for 
we  thought  no  company  in  the  army  had  a  kinder 
hearted  and  better  officer  than  our  captain,  Charles 
A.  Worden,  Company  E,  7th  U.  S.  Infantry. 

Our  lieutenants  were  promoted  and  transferred 
to  other  regiments. 

Our  regiment  remained  at  Fort  Wayne  several 
months,  and  then  companies  were  sent  to  different 
stations.  Our  company  was  sent  to  Jefferson  Bar- 
racks, Missouri,  where  we  relieved  the  Twelfth  In- 
fantry, with  whom  we  had  been  in  the  campaign  in 
Cuba.  '  They  were  now  ordered  to  the  Philippine 
Islands,  where  trouble  was  brewing  among  the  na- 
tives, they  having  rebelled  against  American  rule. 
Before  the  Spanish- American  war  was  fully  settled, 
our  country  was  engaged  in  war  against  the  natives 
of  these  islands. 

We  remained  in  garrison  at  Jefferson  Barracks 
until  March,  when  our  company  was  ordered  to  Fort 
Sheridan,  Illinois,  near  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan, 
and  the  city  of  Chicago.  There  we  relieved  the 
Fourth  Infantry,  which  was  ordered  to  the  Philip- 
pine Islands. 

There  I  remained  until  May,  when  I  received  my 
discharge,  having  served  my  term  of  three  years. 
I  bade  my  comrades  good-bye  and  returned  to  my 
home,  where  I  visited  a  short  time.  I  then  journeyed 
to  New  York  and  on  May  26th,  1899,  re-enlisted  in 
the  corps  of  engineers  at  Albany,  New  York,  where, 
with  several  others,  I  received  transportation  to 
New  York  City.  From  there  we  crossed  to  Willet's 
Point,  Long  Island,  and  found  the  battalion  of  en- 
gineers stationed  there.  I  was  assigned  to  Com- 
pany B,  first  battalion,  engineers.  This  company 
was  being  fitted  for  service  in  the  Philippines.  All 
men  who  had  seen  previous  service  were  assigned  to 


HOME  AGAIN.  85 

this  company.  Much  attention  was  given  to  pontoon 
drill,  rowing  pontoon  boats,  and  building  bridges. 
Very  little  of  our  time  was  given  to  infantry  drill, 
as  all  had  had  experience  in  that  form  of  service. 

On  July  5th,  1899,  we  received  orders  to  start  for 
the  Philippines.  Many  of  the  boys  had  spent  the 
Fourth  over  at  New  York  City.  On  the  morning  of 
the  fifth  of  July,  we  boarded  a  train  at  the  Jersey 
City  piers.  We  were  to  journey  over  the  Chesa- 
peake and  Ohio  railroad.  We  soon  reached  Phila- 
delphia, then  Baltimore,  and  then  Washington  with 
its  capitol  and  large  dome,  which  we  could  see  in 
the  distance  as  we  passed. 

At  Eichmond  our  train  stopped  for  a  half  hour, 
thus  giving  us  time  to  stretch  our  legs  and  freshen 
us  for  the  journey  before  us.  We  then  passed  on 
through  Kentucky  and  arrived  in  Cincinnati,  the 
next  day  after  dinner.  There  our  cars  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  Big  Four  railway  and  that  night  we 
were  whirling  away  on  our  way  to  St.  Louis.  We 
had  been  given  tourist  sleeping  cars,  and  were  just 
as  comfortable  as  if  we  had  been  sleeping  in  the 
barracks. 

We  awoke  next  morning  in  St.  Louis,  and  were 
transferred  to  the  Missouri  Pacific,  which  would 
carry  us  as  far  as  Pueblo,  Colorado.  Soon  we  were 
speeding  on  through  cities  and  villages,  past  farm 
houses,  orchards  and  groves.  The  next  afternoon 
we  passed  through  Kansas  City,  crossed  the  state 
of  Kansas  and  the  following  day  reached  Pueblo. 
There  we  transferred  to  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande, 
and  at  sunset  had  passed  Canon  City  and  soon  en- 
tered Grand  Canon,  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
scenes  Of  its  kind  in  the  world.  Our  train  rumbled 
on  through  Salida  and  over  the  mountains.  Next 
morning  we  passed  down  the  Royal  Gorge  and  ar- 
rived in  Glenwood  Springs.  This  we  found  to  be  a 
beautiful  little  city  in  the  mountains,  with  fine  hotels 


86         ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

and  bath  houses,  where  patients  spend  months  in 
taking  daily  baths  to  improve  their  health.  We 
spent  a  half  hour  in  this  little  city  and  passed  away 
the  time  roaming  through  its  streets.  As  I  walked 
along,  I  heard  my  name  called  and  turned  to  find  a 
former  comrade  of  the  Seventh,  who  after  being  dis- 
charged had  secured  a  position  in  a  drug  store  of 
that  city.  We  chatted  about  old  times  until  my 
train  was  ready  to  leave. 

We  left  for  Grand  Junction,  where  we  were  to 
transfer  to  the  Bio  Grande  and  Western.  As  we 
sped  along  we  caught  glimpses  of  high  and  rocky 
bluffs,  and  the  Grand  river,  rushing  madly  down  its 
rocky  course.  After  leaving  Grand  Junction,  we 
passed  over  the  Great  American  Desert.  As  we 
rolled  along  over  the  burning  sand,  our  eyes  became 
tired  and  hot  from  gazing  on  this  waste  plain.  We 
passed  no  villages  now,  only  little  stations,  where 
were  located  the  water  pools,  and  we  felt  relieved 
every  time  we  passed  one  of  these  green  spots  in  the 
desert.  All  day  and  night  we  traveled  through  this 
waste  land,  which  grew  so  monotonous,  but  next  day 
we  saw  signs  of  civilization  again. 

As  we  neared  Salt  Lake  City,  green  fields  ap- 
peared along  the  waterways  which  have  been  made 
along  the  railroad.  Before  night  closed  in  we  caught 
a  glimpse  of  Great  Salt  Lake  away  in  the  distance. 
In  the  morning  we  strained  our  eyes  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  great  Mormon  tabernacle.  We  stopped 
in  the  city  a  short  time  and  then  proceeded  on 
our  way  to  Ogden,  where  we  again  transferred,  this 
time  to  the  Central  Pacific,  and  then  continued  on 
our  journey  westward  through  the  desert.  The  next 
day  we  reached  Nevada ;  the  desert  wastes  were  now 
fast  disappearing  and  our  train  whirled  through 
large  grazing  tracts,  past  towns  filled  with  cowboys 
in  their  broad  brimmed  hats,  flannel  shirts,  buckskin 
trousers  and  high-heeled  boots  with  spurs  extending 


HOME  AGAIN.  87 

back  from  heel  and  large  pistols  buckled  to  their 
sides.  Oftentimes  we  saw  large  numbers  of  them 
following  the  herds  of  cattle  which  dotted  the  plains 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  see. 

We  next  neared  the  mountains,  which  appeared 
less  formidable  than  the  rugged  Rockies,  and  which 
were  covered  with  vegetation.  As  we  came  along 
the  mountain  side  we  arrived  at  a  division  where 
engines  were  changed  and  cars  inspected.  Every- 
one tumbled  off  the  train  on  to  the  platform  to  limber 
up  for  the  next  ride.  A  short  distance  from  the 
depot  we  noticed  a  large  wooden  cage  on  which  was 
painted  in  large  white  letters: 
THIS  BAT  WAS  CAPTURED  IN  YUBA  CANON. 

Everyone  was  eager  to  see  it  and  walked  up  to 
the  cage.  On  bending  over  so  as  to  view  the  bottom 
of  the  cage,  we  saw  a  large  red  brick-bat.  The  boys 
never  gave  away  the  joke,  but  went  back  and  sent 
others  out  to  see  the  wonderful  bat.  This  furnished 
amusement  for  us  while  waiting  here.  The  sign 
caught  the  captain's  eye,  and  he  walked  out  to  the 
cage,  the  boys  laughing  and  shouting  when  he  dis- 
covered the  fake.  But  the  captain  took  it  good 
humoredly. 

We  again  moved  on  our  way  and  soon  neared  the 
summit  of  the  mountain,  where  snow  sheds  extended 
for  miles  and  miles.  They  were  constructed  of  large 
heavy  timbers,  and  during  the  winter  season,  when 
the  snowfall  is  heavy,  they  must  resemble  large 
tunnels.  After  leaving  these  we  soon  entered  Cali- 
fornia, and  as  our  train  descended  the  mountain 
side  we  could  see  thousands  of  acres  of  fruit  trees — 
pears,  peaches,  apricots  and  figs.  In  the  villages 
one  could  purchase  large  quantities  of  fruit  for  an 
exceedingly  small  amount  of  money. 

After  leaving  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  we 
traversed  the  Sacramento  Valley.  This  was  very 
fertile  and  productive;  large  wheat  farms  were 


88        ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

passed  as  we  went  whirling  by.  We  next  passed 
through  the  city  of  Sacramento,  the  capital  of  the 
state,  and  in  a  short  time  arrived  at  Benicia  bay, 
where  the  train  was  separated  into  two  sections  and 
pulled  onto  the  large  ferry  boat  to  be  carried  across 
the  bay.  We  arrived  in  Oakland  at  dinner  time. 

It  had  taken  us  seven  days  to  make  the  journey 
from  New  York,  which  in  former  years  required  a 
period  of  nine  months.  At  Oakland  we  boarded  a 
small  boat  and  were  taken  across  San  Francisco  bay 
to  Angel  Island,  where  we  must  remain  in  barracks 
until  our  transport  was  prepared  to  sail  for  Manila. 

Angel  Island  is  a  high,  rough  and  irregular  island 
on  which  is  situated  the  artillery  barracks  and  quar- 
antine hospital.  Any  vessel  entering  the  barbor  and 
infested  with  any  contagious  disease,  such  as  small- 
pox, yellow  fever  or  bubonic  plague,  must  deposit 
crew  on  shore  at  the  hospital  until  the  vessel  has 
been  disinfected  and  disease  stamped  out.  Here,  in 
the  evening,  as  the  sun  sank  between  two  high  points 
of  land,  we  beheld  the  Golden  Gate.  It  certainly 
deserves  the  name  that  has  been  applied  to  it,  for  the 
sunset  is  a  grand  spectacle  on  a  bright,  clear  evening. 

The  weather  was  then  very  chilly  there,  although 
it  was  the  month  of  July,  and  we  could  see  many 
wearing  overcoats.  Passes  were  issued  to  us  that 
we  might  visit  the  city  of  San  Francisco.  A  large 
number  of  us  took  advantage  of  this  and  crossed 
over  to  the  city.  On  the  way  we  passed  Alcatraz 
island,  where  is  situated  the  United  States  military 
prison.  Here,  soldiers  who  have  committed  crimes 
are  imprisoned  for  terms  exceeding  five  years. 
Stories  were  told  to  us  there  of  many  who  attempted 
to  escape,  but,  if  successful  in  slipping  past  guards 
are  usually  drowned  in  the  bay.  After  reaching  the 
city  we  made  our  way  to  the  Presidio  where  we  had 
friends  we  wished  to  see  before  leaving  for  the 
Philippines. 


SOLDIERS  TAKING  REFRESHMENTS  AT  A   MOUNTAIN  INN. 


HOME  AGAIN.  89 

We  found  the  contour  of  the  city  to  be  very  rough, 
the  streets  running  up  hill  and  down,  which  made  us 
wonder  how  the  street  cars  were  able  to  ascend  and 
descend  them  so  successfully.  At  the  Presidio,  tem- 
porary hospital  tents  were  placed  along  the  hillside, 
and  there,  hundreds  of  sick  soldiers  were  cared  for 
as  they  arrived  from  the  Philippines.  These  men 
told  us  wonderful  stories  of  the  severe  campaigns 
and  hardships  they  had  endured  in  those  islands. 
Some  of  our  comrades  were  disheartened  by  these 
stories,  for  in  two  days  we  expected  to  set  sail  and 
be  gone  for  three  years.  Those  of  us  who  had  ex- 
perienced foreign  service  in  Cuba,  laughed  at  these 
stories  for  we  knew  they  had  been  exaggerated.  We 
knew  that  many  things  we  would  have  to  face  would 
be  severe,  but  were  willing  to  face  it  for  the  sake  of 
adventure  and  travel  it  afforded. 

Thousands  of  soldiers  were  waiting  here  to  be 
transported  to  the  Philippines.  We  were  to  sail  on 
the  transport,  City  of  Para,  in  company  with  two 
troops  of  the  Fourth  Cavalry,  and  five  companies 
of  the  Twenty-fourth  Infantry,  who  were  colored. 
This  was  rather  a  mixed  company  of  passengers, 
about  one-half  being  colored.  We  spent  the  next 
two  days  in  sight-seeing  and  on  July  15th,  1899, 
boarded  the  transport  bound  for  the  Philippines. 
About  four  p.  m.  the  boat  backed  away  from  the  pier, 
and  crossed  the  bay.  The  Twenty-fourth  Infantry 
band  which  was  on  board  our  boat  played  "The 
Soldier 's  Farewell. ' '  On  the  way  out  of  the  bay  we 
passed  two  boats  containing  volunteer  regiments 
which  were  returning  from  the  Islands.  The 
weather  was  very  rough  and  as  we  passed  through 
the  Golden  Gate  our  vessel  began  to  rock  and  heave, 
and  we  soon  retired  to  our  bunks  on  the  berth  deck. 
The  weather  continued  to  be  rough  and  in  the  morn- 
ing there  were  many  who  did  not  care  to  leave  their 
bunks.  That  day  the  clouds  cleared  away  and  the 


90        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

sun  came  out  brightly,  and  our  boat  plowed  through 
the  heavy  swells  of  the  Pacific.  There  was  now  no 
land  in  sight,  and  in  every  direction  were  large  roll- 
ing swells  which  appeared  like  small  mountains  ap- 
proaching us,  causing  us  to  think  it  impossible  for 
the  ship  to  ride  over  the  white  capped  waves.  Groans 
were  now  issuing  from  all  parts  of  the  ship,  and  as 
I  passed  up  to  the  cabin  deck  with  mess  kit  in  hand, 
I  decided  to  postpone  my  breakfast,  for  my  toes  were 
tingling  and  there  appeared  to  be  a  lump  in  my 
throat,  making  it  difficult  to  swallow.  Many  of  the 
boys  were  lined  up  along  the  rail  with  heads  bent 
over,  "feeding  the  fishes."  Those  who  were  not 
sick  stood  by  laughing,  with  such  remarks  as  "spit 
it  out  if  you  don't  like  it."  I  sought  a  quiet  corner 
and  sat  watching  the  rolling  waves,  wishing  I  were 
anywhere  but  on  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

A  friend  came  with  his  breakfast  and  sat  near  by, 
eating.  He  insisted  on  my  drinking  a  cup  of  coffee, 
and  taking  my  tin  cup  with  him  soon  returned  with 
the  steaming  beverage.  Several  swallows  of  this 
turned  me  upside  down,  and  I  was  soon  hanging  over 
the  rail,  many  of  my  comrades  laughingly  telling 
me  to  "spit  it  out,"  that  I  would  soon  be  all  right. 
Sickness  continued  for  several  days,  and  then  our 
appetites  returned,  and  it  seemed  impossible  to  get 
enough  to  satisfy  our  hunger.  Each  morning  after 
decks  were  scrubbed  we  had  roll  call,  and  then  an 
hour  or  more  was  passed  in  setting-up  drill,  on  deck. 
Everything  was  soon  well  regulated,  this  being  a 
splendid  ship  of  its  kind.  It  had  formerly  been  a 
passenger  steamer,  plying  between  San  Francisco 
and  the  city  of  Para.  It  had  been  chartered  by  the 
government  to  transport  troops  to  the  Islands,  and 
had  already  made  two  voyages  across  the  Pacific. 
The  crew  consisted  of  captain,  who  understood  navi- 
gation thoroughly,  and  who  commanded  the  boat; 
his  assistants — first,  second  and  third  mates,  whose 


HOME  AGAIN.  91 

duties  it  was  to  see  that  all  of  the  captain's  instruc- 
tions were  obeyed;  a  chief  engineer,  who  must  see 
that  firQg  and  engines  were  in  first-class  condition; 
a  chief  steward,  who  must  look  after  the  commissary 
department,  and  cooking  for  the  boat's  officers  and 
crew.  The  entire  crew  was  in  two  sections — one 
whose  duties  were  scrubbing  decks,  overhauling  life 
boats,  raising  and  lowering  anchor,  and  keeping 
decks  in  good  condition ;  the  other,  a  fire  crew  whose 
duties  were  to  fire  boilers  and  pass  coal  from 
bunkers. 

The  engine  room  and  boilers  were  in  center  of 
ship.  They  were  first-class  marine  engines,  and  ran 
a  shaft  which  extended  to  the  stern.  Here  beneath 
the  water  was  the  propeller  which  was  built  of  steel 
and  which  consisted  of  four  blades,  eight  or  ten  feet 
long.  It  seemed  hardly  possible  that  this  could  force 
the  large  craft  through  the  water  at  the  rate  of  300 
or  350  knots  every  twenty-four  hours.  Directly  be- 
hind the  propeller  was  the  steering  blade  which  gave 
the  ship  the  course,  and  which  was  manipulated 
from  the  pilot  house.  The  steering  was  done  by  the 
boat's  quartermasters,  who  had  directly  in  front  of 
them  the  chart  or  map,  with  route  to  be  taken  plainly 
marked  thereon.  In  front  of  this  and  in  plain  view 
was  the  compass.  On  board  this  vessel  was  an  elec- 
tric light  plant,  which  furnished  light  for  every  part 
of  the  ship.  Also  a  condensing  plant  which  sepa- 
rated salt  from  the  sea  water  and  made  it  fit  to 
drink.  We  also  found  bakeries,  a  laundry,  and  an 
ice  plant  on  board.  On  the  sleeping  decks  were  elec- 
tric fans,  which  forced  drafts  of  air  through  our 
quarters,  making  them  more  comfortable  in  warm 
climates. 

Time  dragged  slowly  by  on  this  long  voyage,  and 
all  kinds  of  schemes  were  invented  to  while  away 
the  time.  We  made  friends  with  the  men  of  the 
cavalry  and  infantry.  The  men  assembled  each  day 


92        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

in  groups — some  telling  yarns,  some  reading,  others 
playing  cards  and  gambling.  We  had  a  man  in  our 
company  who  was  a  typical  Jew,  and  on  whose 
countenance  could  be  traced  nearly  every  feature  of 
the  Jewish  caste — hooked  nose,  sharp  eyes,  and  cun- 
ning look,  were  all  present.  His  name  was  Raven- 
croft,  but  he  was  known  as  ' '  Ravenscamp. ' ' 

The  colored  troops  were  very  fond  of  throwing 
dice,  and  "Raven"  started  a  chuck-a-luck  game.  He 
had  marked  the  numbers  1,  2,  3,  4  and  5  upon  his 
poncho,  and  placed  two  dice  in  a  tin  cup.  The  men 
then  placed  their  money  on  any  one  of  these  num- 
bers, and  the  dice  were  shaken  and  then  rolled  out 
on  the  board.  The  money  that  was  placed  on  the 
number  shown  by  the  dice  must  be  paid  then  by  the 
man  who  conducts  the  game.  But  if  the  number 
covered  by  the  money  did  not  correspond  with  that 
shown  by  the  dice,  the  man  who  conducted  the  game 
took  possession  of  it.  "Raven"  was  very  ambitious 
and  we  could  hear  him  at  all  hours  in  the  day  calling 
loudly  as  he  shook  the  dice — ' '  one,  two,  and  three— 
come  see  the  old  gamekeeper."  He  continued  this 
for  several  days,  and  was  well  patronized  by  the 
colored  boys.  But  at  almost  every  time  "Raven" 
was  the  winner  in  the  game.  One  day  "Raven"  was 
busy  with  his  game,  and  had  a  large  crowd  around 
him,  which  rather  excited  him  as  he  raked  in  the 
money,  and  at  times  paid  out  bets.  Finally  some 
other  members  of  the  colored  regiment  approached, 
and  a  large  colored  boy  said,  "boss,  let  me  see  dem 
bones. "  "  Raven ' '  replied  ' '  all  right,  look  at  them, ' ' 
he  being  busy.  The  colored  man  inspected  them  and 
said, ' '  dem  is  all  right, ' '  and  passed  them  back.  The 
Jew  continued  to  rattle  them  in  the  tin  cup.  The 
new  comers  walked  away,  and  after  a  while  ap- 
proached him  again.  They  asked  if  there  was  any 
limit  on  the  game,  or  if  they  might  wager  any 
amount  they  chose.  "Raven"  told  them  they  might. 


HOME  AGAIN.  93 

He  noticed  that  several  staked  their  money  on  small 
numbers,  but  all  the  large  money  was  placed  on  five. 
This  soon  became  very  noticable  for  each  time  this 
number  won.  The  Jew's  pile  of  money  began  to 
diminish,  and  he  soon  became  nervous.  He  was  com- 
pelled to  pay  from  his  pocketbook,  and  soon  slipped 
away  with  his  outfit  under  his  arm.  On  examination 
he  found  that  the  colored  man  had  switched  dice, 
and  had  exchanged  for  one  with  fives  on  each  side, 
therefore  making  it  impossible  for  number  five  to 
lose.  The  "old  gamekeeper"  was  not  seen  for 
several  days,  but  finally  opened  up  again,  this  time 
placing  a  limit  on  the  bets  and  allowed  no  one  to 
meddle  with  the  dice.  The  men  of  our  company  did 
very  little  gambling,  for  they  had  all  experienced 
previous  service,  and  understood  their  duties  and 
went  about  to  fulfil  them  willingly. 

We  had  several  peculiar  characters  in  our  com- 
pany. One  whom  we  called  "Circus  Charlie,"  who 
could  imitate  clowns,  whistle  like  a  bird  and  talk 
like  a  lady ;  when  he  tried  to  walk  like  one,  it  caused 
a  great  deal  of  amusement  as  he  went  swinging 
along  the  deck.  He  had  been  very  seasick,  and  one 
day  while  hanging  over  the  rail  he  straightened  up 
very  suddenly,  began  to  hawk  and  feel  his  throat. 
One  of  his  comrades  asked  what  troubled  him,  and 
he  bent  over  to  examine  his  toes,  remarking  at  the 
same  time,  "I  believe  my  toe  nails  came  up  that 
time."  Every  one  laughed  as  "Circus"  walked 
gingerly  down  to  his  bunk.  Our  favorite  story  teller 
was  a  member  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Infantry  whose 
name  was  Sam.  Sam  would  keep  us  roaring  with 
laughter  for  hours  as  he  related  some  of  his  exploits 
in  the  prize  ring,  or,  of  his  travels  with  Barnum  & 
Bailey's  circus  side  show,  representing  a  wild  man 
from  some  cannibal  tribe,  being  obliged  to  eat  five 
pounds  of  raw  meat  each  day  to  make  him  look 
savage.  He  was  the  champion  liar  on  board  the  ves- 


94         ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

sel,  and  we  spent  many  hours  listening  to  the  won- 
derful tales  which  he  told. 

Seven  days  after  leaving  San  Francisco  we  began 
to  notice  birds  flying  and  the  sailors  told  us  we  were 
near  land.  Soon  after  we  wended  our  way  into  the 
port  of  Honolulu.  Scores  of  native  boys,  clad  only 
in  breech  clouts,  filled  the  water  around  the  dock, 
crying  in  shrill  tones,  "dive,  dive !  throw  money  and 
watch  me  get  it. ' '  They  were  out  now  in  deep  water, 
and  when  the  coins  which  the  boys  threw  struck  the 
water  they  followed  its  course  downward,  secured  it 
and  then  rose  to  the  surface  like  a  porpoise,  holding 
it  up  in  the  hand  for  us  to  see,  and  then  swim  off 
again  calling, ' '  dive,  dive. ' '  Soon  their  mouths  were 
bulged  out  like  squirrels  carrying  nuts.  Many  peo- 
ple began  to  gather  on  the  dock,  some  with  wreaths 
of  flowers  placed  around  the  hat  and  almost  every 
one  wearing  a  bouquet.  This  was  called  the  "land 
of  flowers."  A  short  distance  back  of  the  city  was 
a  large  volcano,  from  which  smoke  poured  con- 
stantly, and  which  we  found  on  inquiry  to  be  the 
volcano  Mauna  Loa,  twenty-five  miles  distant  from 
Honolulu.  I  was  doing  guard  duty  on  the  morning 
we  arrived  here  and  was  compelled  to  remain  on  the 
boat  while  the  rest  of  the  troops  marched  off  for  a 
holiday.  Our  boat  was  to  remain  here  three  days,  to 
take  on  board  a  supply  of  coal,  of  which  it  took  large 
quantities.  The  next  two  days  I  was  allowed  to  go 
ashore,  and  passed  many  bathing  in  the  waters  or 
strolling  along  the  roads  beyond  the  suburbs  of  the 
city.  We  found  that  the  people  cultivated  rice,  and 
pineapples,  and  that  cocoanuts  and  various  other 
tropical  fruits  were  grown.  The  natives  were  very 
friendly,  these  islands  having  become  a  part  of  the 
United  States  the  previous  year. 

The  city  contained  many  Chinese  and  Japanese 
traders  and  merchants,  and  the  section  of  the  city 
inhabited  by  them  was  in  poor  sanitary  condition. 


HOME  AGAIN.  95 

Many  of  the  buildings  in  the  city  were  built  of  rock 
or  cement,  in  the  residence  portion,  though,  most  of 
the  houses  were  made  of  wood.  Three  days  after 
our  arrival  our  vessel  slowly  made  its  way  out  of  the 
harbor,  for  there  were  many  reefs  near  the  island 
and  the  pilot  must  be  familiar  with  every  turn.  A 
few  hours  after  leaving  the  harbor  we  passed  Leper 
Island,  which  contains  a  colony  of  lepers.  Any  one 
who  visits  this  place  or  lands  on  its  shore  is  never 
permitted  to  leave  it,  for  the  people  of  this  island 
are  quarantined  against  the  world.  Supplies  of  ev- 
ery description  are  landed  here  but  nothing  is  ever 
removed. 

As  we  passed  along  we  saw  tracts  of  land  which 
seemed  to  be  covered  with  ripening  grain,  and  we 
speculated  as  to  how  these  people  lived  and  under 
what  form  of  government  they  ruled  their  colony, 
afflicted  with  the  most  dread  disease  known  to  the 
human  race.  We  were  told  that  the  climate  here  was 
extremely  mild  and  pleasant,  the  average  tempera- 
ture being  70  degrees  Fahrenheit,  sometimes  vary- 
ing 10  degrees  either  way. 

Once  more  we  were  out  on  the  great  Pacific,  but 
the  air  was  calm  and  the  water  as  smooth  as  glass; 
not  even  a  ripple  marred  its  surface,  except  where 
our  boat  plowed  along  leaving  ripples,  which  broad- 
ened for  miles  behind  us.  We  now  noticed  small 
schools  of  flying  fish  which  our  vessel  had  fright- 
ened. They  had  wings  like  the  birds  and  flew  for 
hundreds  of  yards  to  our  right  and  left.  Also  large 
bunches  of  jelly  fish  of  beautiful  rainbow  colors 
could  be  seen.  Then  we  passed  large  schools  of 
porpoises  which  the  sailors  told  us  attain  a  length 
of  ten  or  twelve  feet,  their  bodies  being  very  heavy 
and  weighing  hundreds  of  pounds.  They  appeared 
very  beautiful  as  they  rolled  over  the  surface  of  the 
water,  their  dark  brown  bodies  glistening  in  the  sun- 
light. A  school  of  these  followed  us  for  hours,  play- 


96        ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

ing  like  children.  Presently  we  came  in  sight  of  a 
fin  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  which  moved 
ahead  as  though  drawing  a  straight  line.  This  we 
learned  was  a  shark.  Large,  white  sea  gulls  fol- 
lowed us  for  miles  picking  up  the  scraps  which  were 
tossed  overboard  from  time  to  time. 

No  one  became  sick  after  leaving  Hawaii,  and  we 
rolled  along  day  after  day,  over  the  glassy,  smooth 
blue  water,  with  no  land  in  sight.  After  some  time 
we  occasionally  sighted  a  great  roll  of  smoke,  and 
every  one  watched  eagerly  as  this  came  nearer  and 
nearer.  Then  small  sticks  seemed  to  appear  above 
the  water,  and  presently  we  could  make  out  the 
masts  of  a  vessel.  As  we  passed  by  the  steamer, 
both  ships  saluted  by  lowering  the  flags  on  the  masts 
at  stern.  By  this  emblem  we  could  tell  to  what 
country  she  belonged  and  by  looking  at  top  of  the 
foremast,  to  what  port  vessel  was  bound.  There  had 
been  no  land  in  sight  for  eight  or  ten  days  and  one 
morning  we  were  surprised  to  see  a  small  rock  peep- 
ing above  the  surface  of  the  water.  And  as  our  ship 
advanced  we  could  discern  a  small  rocky  island, 
which  we  learned  was  called  Midway  Island.  A  few 
hours  later  we  passed  a  volcano  from  which  flashes 
of  light  were  emitting  and  we  wondered  at  this 
strange  phenomenon  in  the  middle  of  the  ocean. 
The  weather  now  became  sultry.  So  far  we  had  had 
no  storms  on  the  voyage. 

A  few  days  later  we  observed  water  spouting  up, 
off  to  our  right;  this  we  were  told  was  the  work  of 
whales ;  but  our  vessel  did  not  approach  near  enough 
to  get  a  glimpse  of  these  monsters  of  the  deep.  Now 
drifts  of  sea  weeds  came  floating  by,  flocks  of  birds 
were  seen,  and  all  knew  that  land  was  not  far  away. 
Our  boat  was  passing  near  the  Ladrone  Islands,  but 
we  kept  on  our  course  toward  the  Philippines. 

It  had  now  been  twenty-six  days  since  we  left  San 
Francisco,  and  in  two  more  days  we  should  arrive 


FUNERAL    SCENE    WITH    NA1IVE    BAND,    NAICE,    CAVITE    PROVINCE,    P.    I. 


HOME  AGAIN.  97 

in  Manila  Bay.  The  following  day  land  was  sighted, 
and  we  passed  near  the  northern  point  of  the  Island 
of  Luzon.  We  followed  this  shore  line  the  next  day 
at  times  going  close  enough  to  distinguish  houses 
and  villages  on  shore.  In  the  evening  we  passed 
through  the  entrance  to  Manila  Bay,  passing  Cor- 
regidor  Island,  which  divides  the  entrance  into 
northern  and  southern  channels.  Our  vessel  took 
the  same  course  as  that  of  Dewey's  fleet,  when  they 
entered  on  that  memorable  day  of  May,  the  previous 
year.  It  had  now  grown  dark,  and  shortly  after  this 
our  boat  was  anchored  along  side  several  others. 
About  five  miles  away  we  could  see  the  electric  lights 
sparkling  along  the  shore,  and  this  was  Manila,  the 
capital  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


LANDING      IN      MANILA CAMPAIGNING      WITH      GENERAL 

M  'ARTHUR  's  DIVISION — ON  THE  NOETH  LINE. 


LL  were  up  bright  and  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  August  13th.  This  voyage  had 
lasted  twenty-eight  days;  we  had  all 
grown  restless  and  were  tired  of  drink- 
ing condensed  sea  water.  Each  one  was 
eager  to  be  on  land  once  more.  Lighters  appeared 
around  our  boat,  the  infantry  and  cavalry  were  soon 
aboard  and  their  tugs  towed  them  in  to  shore,  which 
was  about  five  miles  distant.  Large  vessels  could 
not  get  nearer,  as  the  water  is  too  shallow. 

Men  aboard  the  tugs  had  informed  us  that  there 
had  been  hard  fighting  the  day  before  with  General 
McArthur's  division  on  the  north  line.  Eight  or 
ten  men  had  been  killed  and  many  wounded.  Our 
captain  had  gone  ashore,  and  on  returning,  orders 
were  given  to  fall  in  and  our  company  was  soon  filing 
down  the  gangway  filling  two  native  cascoes.  These 
are  boats  about  forty  feet  long  and  perhaps  ten  feet 
wide ;  as  we  got  into  these,  they  would  rock  and  row 
as  though  they  would  tumble  upside  down.  A  tug 
threw  us  a  line,  and  we  were  soon  towed  into  the 
Pasig  river.  In  a  short  time  we  landed  near  the 
walled  city  of  Manila,  and  marched  up  a  fine  drive- 
way along  the  shore  to  Malate  barracks,  which  is  in 
the  suburbs  of  Manila.  Here  we  took  up  our 
quarters  in  the  nipa  barracks.  These  were  long 
buildings,  the  roofs  being  made  of  palm  leaves,  and 
the  sides  of  matting,  which  was  woven  from  bamboo. 
Our  company  was  to  remain  here  for  several  days, 
until  all  our  property  was  brought  ashore,  then  join 
General  McArthur's  division  on  the  north  line  at 


100       ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

San  Fernando.  This  was  on  the  Manila  &  Dagupan 
railroad. 

Malate  was  a  very  beautiful  place,  being  situated 
on  the  shore  of  Manila  Bay.  The  majority  of  the 
foreign  consuls  had  their  residences  here.  This  place 
was  well  guarded  by  American  soldiers  and  native 
police,  which  had  been  established  in  all  parts  of  the 
city.  There  were  thousands  of  natives  living  in  and 
about  the  city,  the  men  being  of  small  stature,  black 
hair,  and  dark  brown  complexion.  They  wore  white 
clothes,  made  of  a  very  light  material;  they  wore  no 
shoes  and  many  were  hatless.  All  were  clean  shaven 
and  one  would  scarcely  see  any  beards  or  mustaches. 
Some  were  nearly  white,  while  others  were  very 
dark.  The  chief  material  worn  by  the  women  was 
calico,  in  varied  colors.  The  greater  number  of 
them  were  barefooted  and  without  any  covering  for 
their  heads. 

Passing  along  the  streets  we  saw  here  for  the  first 
time  the  caribou  or  water  buffalo.  These  animals 
have  large  heavy  bodies,  short  legs,  and  are  of  a 
gray  color,  having  scarcely  any  hair  at  all.  Their 
large  horns  extend  backward  two  or  three  feet ;  these 
are  the  beasts  of  burden.  They  draw  a  two-wheeled 
cart  with  a  pair  of  shafts,  and  a  yoke  hooked  over 
front  end  of  shafts,  which  fasten  over  the  top  of  the 
necks  of  the  animals;  a  small  line  fastened  under- 
neath to  keep  it  from  slipping  off.  These  animals 
are  very  powerful,  and  can  draw  a  load  of  a  ton  or 
more  with  apparent  ease.  They  move  along  very 
slowly.  The  boys  remarked,  that  you  had  to  look 
twice  to  see  them  move.  They  must  have  water  ev- 
ery twenty  minutes  or  half  hour ;  this  must  be  poured 
over  the  body  or  they  must  be  released  and  allowed 
to  wallow  around  in  the  water,  as  they  absorb  it 
through  their  hides.  If  they  are  not  permitted  to 
have  water  within  an  hour  they  become  maddened 
and  raise  havoc  in  general. 


WITH  GEN.  McAnTHUR  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES.    101 

Numbers  of  small  ponies  are  also  found  here, 
many  of  them  being  hitched  to  two-wheeled  car- 
riages; these  are  covered  and  called  "carrometos." 
These  little  animals  travel  very  rapidly.  Their 
driver  will  haul  you  to  any  part  of  the  city  or  one 
hour  for  one  peseta,  which  is  worth  ten  cents  in  our 
money.  It  took  us  some  time  to  learn  how  to  make 
exchange  of  money,  as  one  dollar  of  United  States 
money  is  equivalent  to  two  dollars  Mexican  money. 

Manila  is  situated  on  the  east  shore  of  Manila  Bay. 
It  is  built  on  low  ground,  on  the  banks  of  the  Pasig 
river.  This  river  is  the  outlet  to  Laguna  de  Bay  or 
lake  of  the  bay,  which  is  about  twenty  miles  inland, 
southeast  from  Manila.  At  high  tide  the  water  runs 
back  nearly  to  the  lake ;  at  low  tide  the  river  is  swift 
and  rapid.  It  is  a  treacherous  stream  and  many 
men  while  in  bathing  were  drowned.  It  is  navigable, 
and  boats  drawing  ten  feet  of  water  can  follow  to  its 
source  and  enter  the  lake.  The  walled  city  of  Manila 
is  built  on  the  south  bank  of  this  river.  The  wall  is 
built  of  stone,  being  about  twenty-five  feet  in  height 
and  about  fifteen  feet  thick.  It  has  stood  for  cen- 
turies and  is  surrounded  by  a  moat  which  is  filled 
with  slimy  green  water.  There  are  four  entrances 
into  this  city,  one  each  from  the  north,  south,  east 
and  west.  To  enter  these  gateways  you  must  cross 
drawbridges  over  the  moat.  The  walled  part  of 
Manila  is  the  highest  point  in  the  city.  This  place 
contains  the  Governor  General's  palace,  various 
convents,  soldiers'  barracks  and  many  Catholic 
churches.  All  buildings  inside  of  the  wall  are  built 
of  stone  and  cement,  each  two  stories  high.  The  in- 
habitants all  live  in  the  upper  story,  as  it  is  too  damp 
on  the  ground.  The  lower  story  is  used  for  business 
places.  In  the  residence  portion  of  the  city  this  story 
is  used  for  stables  for  the  ponies  and  carriages. 

Passing  out  of  the  west  gate  you  are  on  the  shore 
of  Manila  Bay,  extending  from  the  river,  at  the  end 


102       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

of  which  is  located  the  Santa  Cruz  monument.  Go- 
ing south  along  the  shore  is  a  fine  driveway,  with 
beautiful  palm  trees  on  either  side;  this  continues 
for  about  one  mile.  At  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
wall  is  a  large  monument,  built  in  memory  of  the 
great  Spanish  explorer,  who  discovered  these 
islands,  known  as  the  Magellan  monument.  Here  be- 
gins the  Luneta,  where  native  criminals  and  insur- 
rectos,  who  rebelled  against  the  authority  of  Spain, 
were  marched  and  shot.  This  place  has  now  been 
remodeled;  beautiful  lawns  have  been  made,  trees 
planted,  seats  erected  and  fine  driveways  built 
around 'it.  Here  are  two  band-stands  and  electric 
lights  reaching  every  part.  Concerts  are  given  here 
by  American  military  bands.  In  the  evenings  this 
place  is  alive  with  people  and  the  driveways  filled 
with  carriages.  Standing  here  in  the  evening  you 
may  see  representatives  of  people  from  every  part 
of  the  world  promenading  in  every  conceivable  cos- 
tume. This  is  a  very  interesting  place  and  one  may 
stand  for  hours  gazing  on  this  grand  spectacle.  Con- 
tinuing on  is  Malate,  and  on  the  northeast,  towards 
the  river  is  Saint  Anna.  Here  is  Paco  cemetery, 
where  the  dead  are  laid  away  in  vaults.  This  ceme- 
tery is  under  the  control  of  Spanish  friars.  People 
rent  these  vaults  to  place  their  dead  in.  They  are 
built  from  cement  and  stone,  being  sealed  up.  When 
the  rent  is  not  forth-coming,  the  bodies  are  taken  out 
and  thrown  in  the  boneyard,  which  is  a  square  sur- 
rounded by  a  high  concrete  wall.  Ascending  the 
steps  to  this  is  a  small  platform  and  one  looking 
down  in  can  see  thousands  of  human  skeletons  piled 
up  on  top  of  one  another. 

As  you  reach  the  river  you  come  to  a  large  toll 
bridge,  which  spans  this  river.  To  the  left  of  this 
bridge  is  a  large  market  under  roof;  this  has  fine 
concrete  floors  and  is  scrubbed  daily.  Here  thous- 
ands of  natives  are  selling  their  goods.  Such  as 


WITH  G-EN.  McARTHUR  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES.    103 

tropical  fruits,  bananas,  plantain,  cocoanuts,  pine- 
apples, oranges,  limes,  lemons,  guavas,  mangos, 
bread  fruit,  grape  fruit,  vegetables  of  all  descrip- 
tions, sweet  potatoes,  onions,  garlic,  fish,  shrimp 
and  grasshoppers.  These  are  considered  an  extra 
dish  in  this  country.  In  certain  seasons  of  the  year 
you  can  see  people  making  large  nets  and  gathering 
them  in  and  selling  them  by  the  quart,  or  any  quan- 
tity you  wish  to  buy.  The  legs  and  wings  are  re- 
moved and  they  are  fried  or  stewed.  This  is  not  a 
favorite  dish  in  America  as  it  does  not  please  the 
palate  of  the  American.  The  natives  are  very  fond 
of  this  dish.  Meat  is  also  sold  at  this  market,  beef 
being  a  luxury,  often  selling  for  seventy-five  cents 
per  pound.  Pork  is  plentiful  as  there  are  large 
numbers  of  hogs  in  these  islands.  Chickens  are  not 
sold  on  this  market,  as  they  are  raised  for  fighting. 
Cock  fighting  is  the  native  sport  in  the  Philippines, 
Saint  Anna  having  the  largest  pit  on  the  island  of 
Luzon.  Among  other  articles  for  sale  at  this  market 
are  corn,  peanuts,  sugar  and  molasses. 

Crossing  the  river  to  New  Manila,  passing  San 
Polac,  one  can  see  thousands  of  native  houses.  They 
are  built  of  bamboo.  Four  poles  are  placed  in  the 
ground,  steps  being  built  up  about  ten  feet  high. 
Here  the  floor  is  built  from  boards  or  split  bamboo ; 
a  door  and  windows  are  cut  out  of  each  side.  The 
roof  is  made  from  nipa  or  palm  leaves  woven  to- 
gether in  bunches.  The  sides  of  the  house  are  made 
of  matting  woven  from  long  thin  strips  of  bamboo. 
Everything  is  lashed  on  with  rattan — a  sort  of  vine 
which  is  as  tough  as  whale  bone — a  nail  not  being 
used  in  the  entire  construction.  In  the  poorer  sec- 
tion beds  are  unknown,  for  natives  sleep  on  the  floor. 
Knives,  forks,  spoons  and  dishes  are  not  seen  here. 
The  meals  all  are  cooked  in  a  large  cast-iron  pan, 
after  which  the  family  gathers  around  the  pan  each 
one  helping  himself,  eating  with  his  fingers.  Often- 


104       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

times  you  may  see  the  family  squatted  down  around 
this  pot  rolling  up  a  ball  of  rice,  placing  a  small 
piece  of  fish  on  top  of  it  and  then  putting  it  in  their 
mouths  and  eating  it.  This  looks  odd  and  filthy  to 
us  at  first  but  one  soon  grows  accustomed  to  it. 
Wealthier  natives  have  large  buildings  with  several 
rooms,  their  houses  being  furnished  with  beds, 
chairs,  tables  and  chinaware  of  modern  style.  These 
are  nearly  all  imported,  and,  of  course  it  takes  a 
wealthy  family  to  have  these  luxuries.  The  well  to 
do  Filipino  dresses  in  modern  fashions,  many  wear- 
ing clothing  of  latest  style,  shoes  and  straw  hats. 
The  women  dress  mostly  in  black,  the  goods  being 
woven  out  of  thin  material.  This  section  of  the  city 
is  the  largest  portion  of  Manila.  It  contains  the 
Bonondo  district,  which  extends  to  the  shore  of  the 
bay.  The  Americans  have  divided  the  island  of 
Luzon  into  two  parts.  North  of  the  Pasig  river  the 
north  line,  and  south,  the  south  line.  The  popula- 
tion of  Manila  is  over  400,000  inhabitants  scattered 
over  a  great  area  of  ground,  as  the  majority  of  the 
people  live  outside  of  the  wall. 

The  American  army  had  captured  this  place  from 
the  Spanish  in  August,  1898,  being  assisted  by  the 
natives  under  Aguinaldo  as  their  leader  and  general. 
The  Americans  secured  thousands  of  arms  and 
rounds  of  ammunition  at  Cavite,  where  the  Spanish 
fleet  was  destroyed.  Here  the  American  army  had 
landed  and  supplied  Aguinaldo  with  these  arms,  he 
arming  the  natives  and  drilling  them,  and  organiz- 
ing them  into  a  small  army,  thus  assisting  the  Amer- 
icans in  capturing  Manila.  After  peace  was  de- 
clared between  the  Americans  and  Spanish,  Aguin- 
aldo had  declared  the  Filipinos  must  have  independ- 
ence, and  continued  to  organize  a  large  army.  The 
Americans  did  not  look  favorably  upon  this  move- 
ment. Conferences  were  held  for  several  months. 
The  natives  were  excitable  and  passionate,  and  in 


A  GROUP  OF  SOLDIERS  OFF  DUTY  IN  AN  ARMY  TENT. 


WITH  GEN.  MCAKTHUR  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES.    105 

January,  1899,  they  had  elected  Aguinaldo  presi- 
dent of  the  Philippine  Islands  and  declared  it  a  re- 
public. 

On  February  13th,  this  same  year  a  clash  came  be- 
tween the  Americans  and  Filipinos.  The  Americans 
held  Manila,  the  Filipinos  holding  almost  everything 
outside  the  city.  They  were  driven  back  and  the 
Americans  now  held  the  section  north  of  Manila, 
the  line  extending  about  forty  miles.  West  of  Manila 
to  the  waterworks,  which  was  about  sixteen  miles 
distant,  the  Americans  held  Cavite,  Immuslacoor, 
which  is  along  the  shore  of  Manila  Bay  and  Par- 
anake,  which  is  about  six  miles  south  of  Manila.  An 
American  soldier  did  not  need  to  venture  far  from 
Manila  to  get  into  trouble. 

The  first  capitol  of  the  Philippine  Republic  was  at 
Malolos,  which  is  located  on  the  north  line.  The 
Filipinos  were  driven  from  this  place  after  the  first 
day's  fighting  in  February;  they  then  moved  their 
capitol  to  San  Fernando  from  which  they  were  also 
driven.  General  McArthur  had  his  headquarters 
now  at  San  Fernando,  his  army  holding  positions 
a  little  farther  north.  Here  one  of  Aguinaldo 's 
principal  generals  had  advised  Aguinaldo  to  sur- 
render. One  evening  as  he  was  going  to  Aguinaldo 's 
headquarters  he  was  shot  by  a  sentry.  His  friends 
and  family  became  very  bitter  toward  Aguinaldo,  or 
"Aggie,"  as  he  was  known  by  our  soldiers.  This 
general's  name  was  Luna,  and  he  was  a  favorite 
among  the  Filipinos.  Many  blamed  Aguinaldo  for 
this  man's  death,  which  caused  them  to  become  loyal 
to  the  Americans.  The  Spanish  soldiers  in  outlying 
districts  had  been  captured  or  surrendered  to  the 
Filipinos  and  were  now  held  as  prisoners  by  them. 
This  had  increased  their  supply  of  arms  and  am- 
munition, so  it  was  now  thought  they  had  an  army 
of  about  75,000  or  100,000  armed  men,  and  there  was 
quite  a  task  before  the  Americans,  who  were  trying 


106       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

to  capture  their  Spanish  prisoners  and  transport 
them  to  Spain.  Our  company  remained  at  Malate, 
drawing  rations  and  khaki  clothing,  which  was  of 
light  material  and  of  a  yellow  color.  This  clothing 
was  used  in  field  service,  as  blue  clothes  are  too 
warm  in  tropical  countries.  It  was  now  the  rainy 
season  of  the  year  and  the  rain  seemed  to  fall  in 
torrents. 

The  government  was  building  a  large  ice  plant, 
and  cold  storage  on  the  banks  of  the  Pasig  river, 
where  fresh  beef  could  be  stored  away,  and  ice  fur- 
nished for  hospitals  and  troops  around  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  city.  One  thing  noticeable  was  the  respect 
the  natives  paid  to  their  churches.  They  would 
never  pass  these  structures  without  stopping,  bow- 
ing and  crossing  themselves.  The  churches  through- 
out these  islands  were  Eoman  Catholic  and  you 
could  see  the  cross  extending  from  the  cupolas  of 
each  one.  There  were  no  public  schools  established 
here  and  any  one  desiring  an  education  must  secure 
it  through  the  church.  The  natives  showed  very 
little  friendliness  toward  the  Americans  and  they 
would  pass  the  soldiers  "looking  daggers"  at  us. 
Volunteer  regiments  were  leaving  here  for  home 
every  day,  they  being  state  troops  from  the  western 
states.  They  were  glad  to  get  away,  as  many  of  them 
had  been  here  for  one  and  one-half  years,  and  had 
seen  hard  service.  One  day  our  company  fell  in 
and  was  marched  off  to  the  Bonondo  district,  where 
we  went  aboard  cars  and  were  soon  on  our  way  to 
join  General  McArthur's  division  on  the  north  line. 
We  were  soon  passing  the  line  of  intrenchments 
around  the  city.  These  were  all  guarded  and  held 
by  American  troops,  as  it  was  necessary  at  this  time 
to  keep  a  strong  guard  around  the  city.  Our  train 
soon  passed  through  Calumpit,  where  the  railroad 
shops  were,  which  had  a  heavy  guard  of  American 
soldiers.  This  road  was  operated  and  under  the 


WITH  GEN.  McAnTHUR  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES.    107 

management  of  American  soldiers.  We  passed 
along  through  Malolos,  the  former  Filipino  capital. 
These  towns  were  filled  with  natives,  and  had  strong 
garrisons  of  Americans,  every  one  of  them  being 
under  martial  law.  We  made  our  way  along  slowly 
and  soon  crossed  the  Rio  Grande  river  over  a  large 
iron  bridge,  which  had  been  wrecked  and  had  been 
repaired  by  a  company  of  engineers. 

We  passed  along  and  could  see  natives  at  work, 
planting  out  their  rice  crops.  Around  these  fields 
were  " paddies"  or  small  banks  thrown  up.  Here  the 
rice  is  transplanted  or  set  out.  Water  must  be  kept 
over  it  until  it  begins  to  head,  then,  the  water  is 
turned  off  and  the  crop  is  allowed  to  ripen.  When 
it  is  harvested  you  can  see  thousands  of  natives  tak- 
ing in  their  crops.  We  now  came  to  Colocon,  which 
is  on  the  bank  of  the  Bagbag  river.  Here  Colonel 
Funston,  of  the  20th  Kansas  volunteers  had  crossed 
with  a  number  of  his  regiment  on  a  raft,  flanking 
the  Filipinos  and  driving  them  from  their  strong  in- 
trenchments.  In  the  afternoon  we  arrived  at  San 
Fernando.  Here  we  marched  to  a  large  dwelling 
house  of  a  wealthy  native;  this  was  to  be  our 
quarters.  We  were  soon  engaged  in  putting  up  our 
canvas  folding  cots  and  arranging  our  mosquito  net- 
ting. It  is  very  necessary  to  have  this  netting  as  it 
is  impossible  to  sleep  where  the  mosquitoes  are  so 
numerous.  This  dwelling  house  could  not  accommo- 
date our  entire  company,  so  a  part  of  them  were 
sent  to  another  building  not  far  distant. 

About  an  hour  after  getting  our  bunks  in  proper 
condition  an  order  came  for  our  lieutenant  and 
twenty-five  men  to  guard  a  wagon  train,  which  was 
carrying  rations  and  supplies  to  the  front,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  eight  miles.  A  detail  was  soon  made 
up  and  we  were  issued  a  day's  rations  and  were  soon 
marching  away  to  the  commissary  building,  where 
four  or  five  army  wagons  with  four  mules  each,  and 


108       ABOUND  THE  WOKLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

forty-five  carts  with  caribous  were  strung  out  be- 
hind one  another,  each  having  a  native  driver.  Soon 
we  were  marching  along  muddy  roads  and  crossing 
swift  streams.  Our  progress  was  very  slow,  travel- 
ing at  the  rate  of  one  mile  every  two  hours.  The  na- 
tives were  compelled  to  stop  and  allow  their  animals 
to  wallow  in  the  water  every  twenty  minutes.  Our 
course  was  along  a  railway  which  had  been  com- 
pletely demolished.  We  passed  intrenchments  from 
which  the  Filipinos  had  been  driven  a  few  days  be- 
fore. It  was  now  growing  dark,  the  rain  coming 
down  in  torrents.  The  native  drivers  holloing  at 
their  animals  and  chattering  like  droves  of  monkeys. 
At  about  twelve  o  'clock  that  night  we  arrived  at  the 
little  village  of  Kulukit ;  there  we  bunched  our  carts 
together  and  sought  a  shelter.  We  were  awakened 
in  the  morning,  and  were  soon  busy  getting  our 
breakfast,  making  coffee,  frying  bacon  and  eating 
hardtack.  We  were  informed  here  that  the  day  be- 
fore Colonel  Smith  had  advanced  with  his  regiment, 
the  12th  infantry  and  a  battery  of  artillery  upon  the 
city  of  Angelus,  capturing  it  after  a  hard  fight.  We 
could  now  hear  the  booming  of  large  guns,  as  we 
marched  along. 

The  guards  informed  us  that  a  large  detail  from 
our  company  had  passed  through  that  morning  at 
daylight  intending  to  place  several  engines  on  the 
track  so  the  natives  could  not  destroy  them.  We 
learned  later  that  this  firing  which  we  had  heard 
took  place  while  our  men  were  at  work  in  readjust- 
ing these  engines,  the  Filipinos  attacking  them  and 
trying  to  prevent  them  from  accomplishing  their 
work.  Our  wagon  train  now  returned  to  San  Fern- 
ando and  we  were  soon  in  our  quarters  once  more. 
We  were  now  busy  on  reconnaissance  duty,  scouring 
the  country  in  every  direction.  These  sketches  were 
sent  into  Manila  where  our  draftsman  would  com- 
plete them  into  maps.  It  being  the  engineers'  duty 


WITH  (TEN.  McAnTHUR  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES.    109 

to  furnish  maps  for  the  army  in  times  of  war.  The 
24th  infantry  now  arrived  here  and  we  met  many 
acquaintances  whose  comradship  we  had  formed 
while  aboard  the  transport.  The  "old  game  keeper" 
was  soon  busy,  as  it  was  hard  to  get  him  out  -on  de- 
tail for  he  could  play  sick  almost  any  time  he  wished. 

To  the  north  was  a  large  mountain  about  fifteen 
miles  from  San  Fernando,  known  as  Mt.  Aryat.  This 
was  covered  with  trees  and  was  a  stronghold  for  the 
insurrectos.  Between  this  place  and  San  Fernando 
was  the  village  of  Mexico.  The  24th  was  now  sta- 
tioned here.  One  day  a  corporal  and  I  were  sent  out 
there  in  company  with  our  second  lieutenant,  where 
a  reconnoitering  party  was  made  up  from  the  24th 
infantry,  to  proceed  in  the  direction  of  Mt.  Aryat. 
We  were  soon  marching  along  through  mud  and  over 
streams  with  a  small  Iggorote  as  our  guide.  These 
are  a  mountain  tribe  and  average  about  four  feet 
in  height,  of  a  dark  complexion  and  woolly  hair. 
This  guide  was  to  lead  us  where  the  Filipinos  were 
located,  as  we  desired  to  find  out  how  near  they  were. 
The  corporal  and  I  were  making  a  map  of  the  coun- 
try, being  equipped  with  sketching  boards  and  com- 
passes, keeping  the  direction,  marking  roads  and 
streams,  pacing  the  distance  as  we  passed  along. 

Our  small  detachment  had  advanced  about  four 
miles  and  were  following  an  embankment  thrown  up 
for  irrigation.  We  had  now  overtaken  the  colored 
troops.  The  advance  party  with  the  sergeant  and 
several  men  who  were  leading  called  back  to  their 
captain,  saying,  ' '  there  is  a  man  up  ahead  of  us  with 
a  gun. ' '  The  captain  said  ' '  take  it  from  him. ' '  About 
that  time  the  Filipinos  in  the  village  ahead  opened 
fire,  the  bullets  rattling  through  the  bamboo,  chop- 
ping off  twigs.  Our  detachment  became  panic- 
stricken,  shooting  in  every  direction  and  running 
back,  we  having  difficulty  in  keeping  them  from  get- 
ting behind  us  and  shooting  over  our  heads.  Their 


110       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

officers  could  do  very  little  with  them  and  had  to  re- 
turn to  Mexico  again.  One  of  their  number  had  lost 
his  gun  and  belt,  and  had  pulled  off  his  shoes  so  as 
to  be  able  to  make  better  time.  When  we  met  him  a 
few  miles  back,  we  all  laughingly  asked  him  what  the 
trouble  was.  He  remarked:  "I  tell  you  boss  dat 
was  a  close  shave."  This  was  the  first  time  he  had 
ever  been  under  fire,  and  he  became  so  excited  as  to 
scarcely  know  what  he  was  doing. 

We  were  soon  again  in  San  Fernando  and  now  our 
company  was  placed  on  various  duties.  Head- 
quarters guard,  outpost  duty,  guarding  wagon  trains 
and  patrolling  the  railroad  between  San  Fernando 
and  Apeliet,  where  a  large  detail  was  made  up  to 
guard  the  old  railroad  depot,  the  town  being  about 
two  miles  distant  up  the  river.  Here  the  Filipino 
scouts  had  informed  our  boys  that  a  large  band  of 
Filipinos  were  near  the  town,  and  were  coming  over 
to  capture  the  depot,  where  our  boys  had  their  bunks 
and  mosquito  nettings  placed  for  sleeping  quarters. 
This  was  a  disagreeable  night  and  all  were  fast 
asleep  when  about  ten  o'clock  it  came  the  turn  of  a 
young  member  of  the  detachment  to  go  on  post.  The 
post  extended  one  hundred  yards  forward  along  the 
railroad  embankment  and  across  a  rice  field.  Op- 
posite this  was  a  long  row  of  tall  bamboo  trees,  hav- 
ing thorny  branches  extending  out  from  the  body  and 
covered  with  small  leaves,  resembling  willow  leaves. 
This  sentry  was  pacing  up  and  down  keeping  a  dili- 
gent watch,  as  he  expected  the  Filipinos  to  attack 
any  minute.  The  wind  had  begun  to  blow  and  as  he 
was  walking  along  looking  across  the  line  of  embank- 
ment he  saw  the  tops  of  these  bamboo  trees  waving 
backward  and  forward  in  the  wind.  He  started  on 
a  run  for  the  quarters  where  the  men  were  asleep, 
calling  out  loudly — "Here  they  are!  Here  they 
come !"  The  men- tumbled  out  of  their  bunks,  taking 
mosquito  nets,  some  buckling  on  belts  over  their 


WITH  GEN.  MCARTHUR  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES.    Ill 

underwear  and  many  going  out  in  comic  attire.  On 
examination  there  were  no  Filipinos  to  be  found, 
and  the  sentry  continued  on  his  post,  feeling  very 
much  ashamed.  The  boys  retired,  once  more  rear- 
ranged their  bunks  and  nets  and  were  soon  asleep. 
The  railroad  had  been  repaired  by  hundreds  of 
Chinese  coolies  as  far  as  Angelus,  there  being  thous- 
ands of  these  orientals  in  the  islands.  A  great 
movement  was  now  being  planned  to  capture  Aguin- 
aldo  and  his  army.  General  McArthur  was  to  hold 
the  line  of  railway  with  a  large  division,  General 
Lawton  was  to  take  the  right  flank  around  Mt.  Aryat, 
and  General  Wheaton  with  his  expedition  on  water 
was  to  proceed  to  the  Gulf  of  Lingayen,  and  land 
at  Dagupan.  In  this  way  the  Filipinos  would  be 
surrounded  on  three  sides,  forcing  them  to  the  west 
coast  into  the  mountains,  where  they  would  be  com- 
pelled to  surrender. 

Large  numbers  of  volunteers  were  now  arriving 
from  the  states.  These  new  regiments  numbering 
from  the  26th  to  the  49th,  the  36th  being  organized 
from  ex-volunteer  soldiers,  who  were  discharged  in 
the  Philippines.  This  was  commanded  by  Colonel 
Bell,  an  energetic  and  dashing  officer,  who  had  for- 
merly served  as  lieutenant  in  the  Fourth  Cavalry. 
General  Wheeler  now  arrived  from  the  United 
States  to  take  command  of  a  brigade  in  General 
McArthur 's  division.  About  eight  or  ten  miles  from 
Angelus  lie  the  mountains.  At  the  foot  of  these  was 
Porac,  a  boasted  stronghold  of  the  Filipinos.  A  de- 
tachment from  my  company  was  ordered  to  join 
General  Wheeler's  headquarters  at  Sanareta,  where 
his  brigade  was  to  advance  against  Porac.  This 
brigade  consisted  of  the  9th  infantry,  36th  infantry, 
one  battery  of  artillery,  and  our  detachment  of  engi- 
neers. General  McArthur  accompanied  this  column. 
Our  detachment  was  fitted  out  with  cooking  utensils, 
as  our  company  would  now  be  split  up  in  detach- 


112       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

ments  from  this  on.  A  few  days  before  this  three  of 
us  had  been  on  guard  in  the  general's  headquarters. 

This  was  a  fine  building  owned  by  a  wealthy  Fili- 
pino planter,  who  now  had  a  temporary  residence  in 
Manila.  The  ground  floor  of  this  building  was  cov- 
ered with  tile,  and  in  the  center  was  a  fine  billiard 
table.  As  we  passed  back  and  forth  by  this  table 
the  floor  would  sound  hollow,  and  as  we  stamped 
upon  it  wondered  the  cause  of  it.  A  day  or  so  later 
the  Filipino  owner  arrived.  After  getting  permis- 
sion he  removed  the  billiard  table,  lifted  up  a  few 
tile  and  took  up  a  box  which  contained  $40,000  in 
jewelry  and  gold.  When  the  boys  heard  of  this  we 
could  see  them  digging  everywhere,  around  build- 
ings, and  old  sugar  store  houses,  but  no  doubt  what 
they  found  could  be  easily  taken  care  of.  One  even- 
ing as  we  were  marching  to  Sanareta  we  found 
empty  houses,  these  offering  us  a  shelter.  We  soon 
had  our  bunks  in  readiness  and  in  a  short  time  all 
were  fast  asleep.  Many  shots  were  fired  into  this 
town  this  night,  but  no  one  heeded  them.  The  next 
morning  found  us  on  our  way  to  Porac  before  day- 
break. 

After  a  few  hours'  marching  we  came  to  sugar 
cane,  and  rice  fields.  Firing  could  be  heard  to  the 
right,  the  direction  in  which  Colonel  Bell  had  ad- 
vanced. The  9th  Infantry  now  advanced  in  double 
time ;  coming  to  a  large  broad  field,  they  threw  out  a 
skirmish  line  on  either  side  of  the  road.  But  we  re- 
mained with  the  artillery  keeping  the  road  and  ad- 
vancing down  it,  firing  shrapnel  and  often  advancing 
three  or  four  hundred  yards  at  a  time.  An  hour 
later  Porac  was  captured  and  about  one  hundred 
prisoners  taken  by  the  cavalry,  which  had  large 
American  horses  that  covered  the  ground  rapidly. 
Our  brigade  remained  here  all  night,  the  next  morn- 
ing marching  to  Angelus,  where  General  McArthur's 
headquarters  was  then  established. 


WATER    BUFFALOS    AND    NATIVE. 


WITH  GEN.  McAnTHUR  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES.    113 

This  was  a  large  town  on  a  high  sandy  point,  there 
being  very  few  natives  living  here.  For  as  soon  as 
they  would  come  in,  Colonel  "  Jaky  Smith"  put  them 
to  work,  he  having  been  commander  here  for  over  a 
month.  The  native  men  had  been  set  to  work  cutting 
down  weeds  and  brush,  thus  making  the  town  as 
clean  as  if  it  had  been  swept  with  a  broom.  Here 
our  detachment  was  to  build  a  railroad  bridge  which 
had  been  destroyed.  The  Filipinos  were  stationed 
on  one  side  of  the  river  and  the  Americans  on  the 
other.  The  Americans  did  not  care  to  make  an  ad- 
vance now,  as  they  were  waiting  for  General  Law- 
ton's  column  to  advance  along  the  right  flank.  So 
we  had  to  continue  building  our  bridge  under  the 
Filipinos'  fire.  To  protect  us  there  were  two  pieces 
of  artillery  placed  along  side  of  us,  and  a  watch 
placed  in  the  church  tower,  with  a  powerful  glass. 
A  telephone  was  strung  from  this  to  the  artillery- 
men, and  when  a  band  of  Filipinos  would  come  near 
us  the  watchman  would  telephone  the  direction 
from  which  they  were  approaching,  then  they  would, 
drop  shrapnel  near  the  Filpinos  scattering  and  keep- 
ing them  back. 

Infantry  regiments  were  having  target  practice, 
placing  targets  out  in  every  direction  from  the  town. 
They  kept  firing  away  day  after  day  while  awaiting 
completion  of  Lawton's  flank  movement.  Our 
bridge  was  now  finished,  and  on  the  night  of  October 
17th  the  insurrectos  made  an  attack  on  the  town. 
This  lasted  from  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  until 
after  daylight,  the  insurrectos  getting  no  closer  than 
six  or  seven  hundred  yards.  Tarlac  the  Philippine 
capital  was  about  35  miles  north  of  Angelus  along 
the  railroad.  Spanish  prisoners  coming  in  to  our 
lines  informed  us  that  Banban  on  the  edge  of  the 
mountains  was  very  strongly  fortified.  Here  the 
hardest  fighting  would  take  place.  We  knew  that 
there  were  strong  forces  of  Filipinos  in  front  of  the 


114       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

river,  and  of  .course  it  would  be  quite  a  task  to  drive 
them  back.  One  morning  all  the  troops  were  ready 
for  the  forward  move.  Scouts  sneaking  down  and 
crawling  across  the  river  made  their  way  along  on 
their  hands  and  knees  to  gain  the  large  Filipino  in- 
trenchments.  Not  a  shot  was  fired,  which  led  us  to 
believe  that  some  of  their  scouts  had  been  in  the 
town  and  had  got  news  of  our  movements  and  had 
all  retreated.  The  army  continued  on,  passing 
through  Mabalacet.  There  were  no  signs  of  Fili- 
pinos, but  the  railroad  was  torn  up  and  the  Maca- 
bebe  scouts  passed  on  to  locate  the  enemy  on  the 
banks  of  the  Banban  river.  Here  our  detachment 
joined  the  17th  infantry  under  Colonel  "Jaky 
Smith."  We  were  to  be  placed  on  the  right  flank, 
make  our  way  in  rear  of  Banban  and  try  to  cut  off 
their  retreat,  at  a  small  town  by  the  name  of  Capas. 
We  had  a  running  fight  all  day,  several  of  our  men 
being  killed  and  wounded.  We  advanced  onward 
and  crossed  Banban  river  and  arrived  in  Capas  that 
night  about  dark. 

The  train  had  passed  through  there  about  one  hour 
before  we  reached  that  place.  Here  we  captured  hun- 
dreds of  Filipinos ;  on  the  retreat  from  Banban,  our 
detachment  captured  a  large  band  of  them,  securing 
forty  or  fifty  guns.  Among  these  we  recognized  a 
native  barber,  who  had  shaved  us  in  San  Fernando. 
We  had  to  build  a  bridge  here  to  get  the  wagon  train 
across,  taking  us  all  day.  The  main  column  was  now 
following  the  retreating  Filipinos  as  fast  as  possible, 
capturing  Tarlac  their  capital  without  firing  a  shot. 
This  broke  up  the  army  on  the  north  line.  Aguin- 
aldo,  slipping  by  Lawton's  column  with  a  small  body 
guard,  was  chased  into  the  mountains  by  several 
troops  of  the  4th  Cavalry,  they  capturing  the  Fili- 
pino capitol,  which  was  traveling  over  land  on  a  cari- 
bou cart.  With  this  were  quite  a  number  of  the  cab- 
inet officers  and  many  Filipino  generals. 


WITH  GEN.  MCAKTHTJR  IN  THE  PHILIPPINES.    115 

The  railroad  was  now  under  American  control. 
We  were  soon  busy  repairing  bridges  which  had 
been  destroyed.  Natives  and  Chinese  coolies  were 
employed  to  lay  track  and  fill  in  washouts.  Our  de- 
tachment then  returned  to  Banban,  built  a  large 
trestle  work  and  repaired  the  largest  bridge  on  the 
system,  which  had  been  partly  wrecked  and  de- 
stroyed. Here  we  worked  for  about  one  month,  and 
in  December  were  able  to  run  trains  from  Manila  to 
Dagupan.  Trouble  was  now  arising  south  of  Manila, 
and  on  the  20th  of  December  we  were  ordered  back 
into  Manila  to  take  part  in  several  expeditions  over 
the  south  line. 

As  we  were  returning  along  the  railway,  natives 
were  harvesting  their  rice,  which  resembled  oats 
somewhat,  when  ripening.  This  grain  is  harvested 
by  cutting  off  the  heads  with  knives,  no  machinery 
of  any  description  being  used.  Thousands  of  na- 
tives could  be  seen  on  either  side  of  the  railway, 
gathering  this  golden  harvest.  About  one  foot  of 
straw  is  allowed  to  remain  to  the  grain;  it  is  then 
nailed  out,  the  hull  resembling  barley,  still  remain- 
ing on  the  grain.  They  then  have  large  tree  trunks 
sawed  up  into  about  four  feet  lengths,  hollowed  out 
on  the  top  in  the  shape  of  a  basin.  The  rice  is  then 
placed  in  here  and  pounded  out  with  a  heavy  sledge. 
This  is  made  of  heavy  wood,  large  at  both  ends  and 
cut  down  in  the  center. 

We  were  soon  in  Manila  taking  up  our  quarters 
at  Malate.  Here  clothing  was  issued.  The  re- 
mainder of  our  company  having  arrived  with  Law- 
ton's  column,  we  now  were  getting  ready  to  go  with 
General  Schwan's  expedition  on  the  south  line.  Here 
the  insurgents  were  busy  and  there  were  thousands 
of  Spanish  prisoners  who  must  be  released.  One 
evening  news  of  General  Lawton's  death  was  an- 
nounced, he  having  been  shot  dead  while  command- 
ing his  troops  near  San  Mateo,  about  forty  miles 


116       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

northeast  of  Manila.  Several  new  regiments  of  vol- 
unteers being  under  his  command,  he  became  very 
anxious  and  was  commanding  the  attack  in  person, 
wearing  a  white  helmet  and  white  duck  suit,  which 
made  him  very  conspicuous.  He.  was  picked  off  by 
a  Filipino  sharpshooter.  This  was  a  great  shock  to 
our  boys,  as  he  was  one  of  the  favorite  generals  in 
the  American  army.  His  body  was  brought  to 
Manila  and  placed  in  a  metallic  coffin,  to  be  returned 
to  the  United  States  for  burial. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CAMPAIGNING     ON     THE     SOUTH     LINE     WITH     GENERAL, 

SCHWAN THE   WONDERFUL  VOLCANO  AT  LAGASPI 

WITH    GENERAL    BATES '    EXPEDITION    TO    THE 
PROVINCE  OF  CAMARINES  IN  THE  SOUTH- 
ERN   PORTION    OF    LUZON. 

ANILA  is  known  throughout  the  world  for 
its  wonderful  rope.  As  you  pass  along 
the  river  front  you  can  see  thousands 
of  bales  of  hemp  being  unloaded  from 
small  vessels  and  hauled  away  on  carts. 
A  small  canal  runs  from  the  river,  north  through 
the  Bonondo  district ;  here  small  vessels  and  cascoes 
are  run  in  where  there  are  large  rope  manufacturing 
establishments.  There  the  natives  make  this  rope. 

Large  quantities  of  tobacco  come  into  the  city 
thus  furnishing  employment  for  thousands  of  men  in 
the  large  cigar  factories.  Many  of  these  factories 
employ  as  high  as  2000  cigar  rollers,  consisting  of 
men,  women  and  children.  The  cigars  are  packed  in 
boxes  and  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Manila  contains  the  largest  prison  in  the  Philip- 
pine Islands.  This  prison  is  called  Bilivid  and  is  far 
out  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city;  there,  thousands  of 
prisoners  were  in  custody  many  of  them  murderers 
and  some  of  them,  leaders  of  the  insurrection,  were 
placed  there  for  safe  keeping.  These  were  trans- 
ported later  on  to  the  Ladrone  Islands.  There  they 
were  held  until  they  were  willing  to  take  oath  of  al- 
legiance to  the  United  States.  The  great  Mabina, 
called  the  brains  of  the  Filipino  republic  was  held 
prisoner  there.  He  was  a  paralytic  and  was  unable 
to  walk  without  crutches.  This  man  was  given  the 


118       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

honor  of  planning  the  insurrection  against  the  Amer- 
icans— plans  which  would  eventually  have  made 
Aguinaldo  emperor  of  the  Philippines,  had  his 
schemes  been  carried  out. 

It  was  now  the  first  of  January  and  our  great  ex- 
pedition had  been  fitted  out  for  campaigning  on  the 
south  line.  Our  detachment  started  on  this  day, 
marched  out  of  Manila,  keeping  to  the  south  side  of 
the  Pasig  river,  and  arriving  at  San  Peter  Macarti. 
Here  this  great  column  was  being  mobilized,  six  or 
seven  regiments  of  infantry,  fourteen  troops  of 
cavalry,  several  batteries  of  artillery,  and  one  moun- 
tain battery.  These  mountain  batteries  are  ar- 
ranged so  as  to  take  apart,  place  on  mules'  backs, 
where  they  can  be  transported  over  mountains  and 
hills,  thus  surprising  the  enemy. 

We  advanced  onward  and  soon  left  the  main  road 
and  started  across  in  the  direction  of  Laguna  de  Bay. 
It  was  our  duty  to  cut  roads  through  and  build 
bridges  as  they  wanted  to  take  a  new  route  and  sur- 
prise the  enemy.  Our  first  night's  camp  was  on  the 
edge  of  a  swamp  or  lake.  This  was  one  of  the  most 
miserable  nights  any  of  us  had  ever  passed  in  the 
Philippines.  It  was  impossible  for  any  one  to  get  a 
minute's  sleep,  some  one  remarking  that  the  mos- 
quitoes carried  augers  and  bored  holes  instead  of 
biting.  They  swarmed  around  us  in  millions  on  the 
banks  of  this  swamp,  and  all  we  could  do  was  to 
take  the  punishment,  which  they  inflicted  upon  us. 
The  next  morning  we  made  our  way  over  hills  and 
high  ground  along  the  shore  of  the  lake.  Behind 
us  our  column  was  strewn  along  as  far  as  we  could 
see.  The  next  evening  we  came  along  the  lake  shore 
camping  at  night  in  a  fishermen's  village.  The 
enemy  was  located  about  three  miles  farther  on, 
along  the  lake  shore. 

After  daylight  we  heard  the  firing  of  guns  and 
booming  of  cannons,  and  about  noon  we  passed  into 


CAMPAIGNING  ON  THE  SOUTH  LINE.  119 

Binyan,  going  over  a  beautiful  level  country,  where 
there  were  thousands  of  acres  of  rice.  The  city  had 
been  taken  by  surprise  and  everything  had  been  left 
behind,  the  natives  leaving  on  short  notice.  This 
city  was  built  on  the  lake  shore,  it  being  a  place  of 
about  50,000  inhabitants.  The  insurrectos  had  re- 
treated across  the  mountains  in  the  direction  of 
Ceylon.  We  remained  in  this  city  this  night.  Many 
of  the  boys  secured  fine  straw  hats.  These  were 
made  from  swamp  grass,  which  is  secured  near  this 
place, 'the  hats  being  very  valuable.  They  are  also 
expensive,  many  of  them  costing  five  and  six  dollars. 

We  had  fresh  pork  here,  having  come  across  sev- 
eral large  porkers  which  had  been  fattened  on  rice. 
Many  of  the  boys  here  had  found  Beno  distilleries. 
This  is  a  drink  distilled  from  rice  and  resembles 
whisky,  except  it  contains  more  alcohol,  is  flavored 
with  anise,  and  it  certainly  must  be  of  great  strength 
as  it  wonderfully  affected  our  fellows,  some  declar- 
ing they  could  whip  the  whole  Philippine  army  them- 
selves. The  next  day  found  us  following  the  Fili- 
pinos, passing  through  a  village  at  the  foot  of  a 
mountain.  Here  we  saw  stocks  for  the  first  time. 
These  were  made  of  two  pieces  of  wood.  A  place 
was  chiseled  out  for  the  neck  and  for  each  arm,  and 
a  bench  placed  in  rear.  The  neck  and  arms  being 
placed  in  the  top  piece  extending  over  and  being 
locked.  This  mode  of  imprisonment  was  still  in 
practice  here. 

It  now  became  a  race  with  us  and  the  Filipinos; 
for  we  had  overtaken  the  rear  of  their  retreating 
army  and  had  captured  prisoners  and  guns — secur- 
ing quite  a  number  of  pieces  of  artillery  and  hun- 
dreds of  Spanish  prisoners.  They  were  very  joy- 
ous, as  this  meant  their  freedom  and  they  would 
soon  again  be  in  their  Spanish  homes.  As  they 
passed  us  they  would  pat  us  on  the  back,  remarking, 
"You  are  all  right."  We  were  now  high  upon  a 


120       ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

plain,  and  towards  evening  we  halted  and  sought  a 
place  for  rest  in  a  small,  scattered  village. 

Here  were  large  quantities  of  nuts  resembling 
hickory  nuts ;  of  course  everyone  was  soon  busy  help- 
ing themselves.  A  German  corporal  of  our  company 
filled  his  haversack  with  these  nuts.  They  are  very 
delicious,  but  contain  a  large  amount  of  oil.  It  was 
not  very  long  until  everyone  became  sick,  quite  a 
number  sitting  along  the  roadside,  pale  and  miser- 
able, looking  as  if  they  had  been  deserted  by  all 
friends.  Fritz  Otto,  our  corporal  sat  there,  rolling 
his  eyes  and  groaning.  We  asked  him  what  the 
trouble  was  and  he  replied,  "dem  nuts,  dem  nuts." 
An  entire  regiment  had  eaten  of  these  nuts  and 
could  not  proceed  any  farther,  being  compelled  to 
remain  here  in  camp  for  the  night,  many  of  them 
vowing  they  would  never  eat  another  nut. 

The  next  morning  we  started  on,  passing  through 
two  deep  canons,  and  arrived  in  Ceylon  about  dark, 
the  cavalry  having  preceded  us,  thus  driving  the 
Filipinos  ahead  of  them.  We  remained  here  for  two 
of  three  days,  unable  to  get  our  wagon  trains  across 
these  canons  with  supplies.  It  was  necessary  to 
draw  them  up  the  mountain  sides  with  ropes,  often 
taking  a  hundred  men  to  accomplish  it.  Through 
these  mountains  were  large  droves  of  monkeys. 
Often  we  could  see  them  hanging  with  their  tails 
twisted  around  limbs,  chattering,  jabbering  and  mak- 
ing faces.  It  was  impossible  to  catch  them,  as  they 
would  scamper  away,  wild  and  excited.  Oftentimes 
we  would  secure  pets  at  native  houses,  these  being 
deserted  by  the  owners,  who  had  left  everything  be- 
hind. 

In  this  country  were  hundreds  of  cocoanut  trees. 
Here  we  seldom  drank  water,  as  the  boys  would 
chop  down  these  trees  and  secure  the  green  cocoa- 
nuts,  cut  the  tops  off  with  a  sharp  knife  and  drink 
the  contents.  The  milk  of  these  nuts  is  verv  delic- 


A    GROUP    OF    ARMY    CORPORALS. 


CAMPAIGNING  ON  THE  SOUTH  LINE.  121 

ious,  some  of  them  containing  over  a  gallon.  This 
is  really  the  pure  cocoanut  milk,  as  it  is  in  the  husk 
before  the  cocoanut  is  formed.  After  the  cocoanut 
is  formed  with  the  hard  shell,  the  milk  all  forms  into 
meat,  leaving  the  water  the  milk  contains  inside  the 
ripened  cocoanut.  Many  people  are  of  the  opinion 
that  the  cocoanut  after  being  shipped  has  been 
tapped  and  the  milk  removed,  but  this  is  not  true, 
as  the  three  round  holes  which  appear  on  the  ripened 
shell  is  where  the  stem  fastens  which  holds  them  to 
the  tree.  It  did  not  take  us  long  to  learn  the  way  in 
which  to  obtain  this  cocoanut  milk,  as  it  must  be  se- 
cured from  the  husk  before  the  nut  is  formed. 

Our  column  now  was  proceeding  to  the  southwest, 
leaving  a  garrison  of  soldiers  in  each  town  or  vil- 
lage. We  were  marching  to  Lake  Taal,  as  there  was 
a  hotbed  of  insurgents  in  that  vicinity.  In  the  center 
of  this  lake  was  a  small  volcano.  We  were  now 
marching  over  a  tableland  where  there  were  acres 
and  acres  of  tobacco  under  cultivation ;  acres  of  corn, 
which  was  now  about  knee  high,  and  large  quantities 
of  sweet  potatoes. 

As  our  column  moved  across  this  stretch  of  land, 
white  flags  were  displayed  from  every  house  and 
village,  thus  signifying  that  these  inhabitants  were 
not  hostile  to  the  Americans.  As  we  passed  them, 
they  were  very  friendly,  bidding  us  the  time  of  day 
in  Spanish,  which  most  of  us  understood.  Upon  be- 
ing asked  if  there  were  any  insurgents  through  this 
district,  they  would  shrug  their  shoulders,  remark- 
ing, "Insurrecto  much  a  marlowe,"  which  meant, 
insurgents  are  bad. 

Along  in  the  afternoon  our  column  arrived  on  the 
edge  of  a  high,  rocky  bluff.  On  stepping  to  the  edge 
of  the  high  point  of  land  you  could  observe  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  landscapes  eye  had  ever  beheld. 
Directly  in  front  of  us  and  far  down  below  is  Lake 
Taal;  every  point  of  it  can  be  seen  from  this  place. 


122       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

In  the  center  of  this  lake  is  a  small  rock  from  which 
oozes  a  thick  stream  of  smoke,  gas  and  steam,  roll- 
ing upward  in  the  air.  Between  us  and  this  volcano 
and  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  is  the  village  of  Tallasie. 
Formerly  this  had  been  a  city,  but  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  an  eruption  of  a  volcano.  It  is  now  built 
up  with  native  houses.  The  ruins  of  the  old  city  are 
still  visible.  We  advanced  down  this  steep  moun- 
tain side  and  were  soon  camping  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake.  There  were  a  few  natives  remaining  in  the 
village,  but  the  greater  part  of  them  had  fled  with  the 
retreating  insurgents.  We  remained  here  for  the 
night,  and  in  the  morning  were  on  our  way  to  Lipa, 
the  capital  of  the  province  of  Batangas.  This  city 
is  second  in  size  on  the  island  of  Luzon,  Manila  lead- 
ing in  population.  This  province  is  considered  one 
of  the  richest  in  the  Islands.  We  now  passed 
through  rice  and  cane  fields,  the  cane  fields  having 
sugar  houses  on  the  edges.  These  sheds  contain 
large  earthen  jars,  holding  about  fifty  gallons  of 
molasses.  The  juice  ground  from  the  cane  is  boiled 
into  syrup,  placed  in  these  earthen  jars  and  shipped 
to  Manila,  where  it  is  refined  into  sugar. 

About  noon  we  were  halted  in  a  large  orange 
grove.  This  was  the  orange  season  and  the  trees 
were  covered  with  golden,  ripened  fruit;  everyone 
helped  himself,  and  the  fruit  was  certainly  delicious. 
Many  of  the  trees  were  of  the  navel  variety,  there- 
fore the  fruit  was  seedless.  As  you  remove  the  thin 
rind,  the  quarters  all  fall  apart. 

We  arrived  in  Santa  Tomas  in  the  evening.  This 
town  is  situated  in  the  central  portion  of  a  large 
orange  district.  Oranges  were  now  our  principal 
diet.  Our  wagon  trains  joined  us  here  from  the 
direction  of  Colombo,  which  is  on  the  shore  of  La- 
guna  de  Bay,  in  the  direction  of  Manila.  Spanish 
prisoners  now  arrived  in  our  lines  and  were  sent  to 
Manila.  The  road  was  a  fine  macadamized  highway, 


CAMPAIGNING  ON  THE  SOUTH  LINE.  123 

and  it  was  easy  to  pass  over  this.  Along  the  way 
were  fine  fields  of  tobacco,  now  under  cultivation. 
The  leaves  of  this  plant  were  large  and  broad.  Along 
this  highway  the  country  was  thickly  populated,  but 
the  houses  were  all  deserted  and  our  wagon  was  soon 
covered  with  monkeys  and  chickens.  The  chickens 
were  of  the  game  variety,  but  this  does  not  affect  the 
soldier  when  he  has  been  without  fresh  meat  for  sev- 
eral weeks.  The  monkeys  jumped  up.  and  down  and 
were  very  friendly.  When  you  get  near  them  they 
will  jump  on  your  shoulders,  throw  off  your  hat, 
clutch  you  by  the  hair  and  begin  to  look  for  lice. 
They  really  are  not  looking  for  lice,  but  dead  hairs. 
The  ends  of  these  hairs  contain  a  small  oil  cup  of 
which  the  monkeys  are  very  fond.  On  finding  one 
of  these  they  jabber  and  chatter  and  continue  their 
search.  One  thing  is  very  peculiar  about  these  ani- 
mals. After  an  American  has  been  about  them  for 
a  few  days  they  seem  to  detest  their  former  owners, 
the  Filipinos,  and  if  one  approaches  close  enough 
they  will  not  have  anything  to  do  with  them,  but  at- 
tack them,  biting  them  and  squealing  with  all  their 
might. 

We  were  now  approaching  Lipa,  which  is  on  a 
high  tableland.  This  indeed  is  a  beautiful  city,  but 
was  now  nearly  deserted  by  the  native  population. 
Here  are  large  convents  and  churches.  Many  of  the 
Spanish  friars,  priests  and  sisters  have  remained 
in  these  convents.  Our  detachment  went  into  camp 
here  for  the  night,  occupying  fine  residences.  This 
was  the  home  of  the  great  Filipino  general  Malver, 
he  being  in  command  of  the  Filipino  army  south  of 
Manila.  The  walls  of  his  home  were  covered  with 
beautiful  paintings  and  mirrors.  This  home  con- 
tained a  beautiful  piano,  which  was  at  our  disposal. 
After  supper,  one  of  our  boys,  who  was  a  musician, 
furnished  us  with  music,  and  we  had  a  stag  dance 
over  finely  polished  mahogany  floors.  Nothing  here 


124       AROUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

was  molested  in  any  way,  and  in  the  morning,  before 
taking  our  departure,  the  floors  were  swept  and  ev- 
erything was  left  in  good  order,  and  in  charge  of  an 
American  sentry,  a  member  of  the  garrison,  who 
was  to  remain  there. 

The  Filipinos  thus  far  had  shown  poor  fighting 
ability,  but  as  for  running,  they  could  not  be  equalled. 
Their  main  army  had  retreated  into  the  moun- 
tains to  our  left,  and  held  a  strong  position  at  Majay- 
jay,  about  fifty  miles  distant;  but  our  column  pro- 
ceeded in  the  direction  of  Batangas,  which  is  on  the 
Bay  of  Batangas.  Here  transports  were  awaiting 
us,  and  we  were  to  be  given  a  fresh  supply  of  rations, 
clothing  and  ammunition.  As  we  advanced  over  this 
road  the  cavalry  attacked  small  bands  of  insurgents, 
driving  them  into  the  mountains  and  capturing 
many. 

This  day  we  made  our  record  march,  covering  a 
distance  of  thirty-five  miles,  from  Lipa  to  Batangas. 
Some  of  our  boys  captured  a  nice  young  beef  along 
the  way,  and  we  slaughtered  this,  taking  the  meat 
with  us.  Arriving  in  Batangas  in  the  afternoon,  we 
secured  a  large  residence  for  quarters.  There  we 
were  to  remain  until  supplies  were  furnished.  The 
next  day  we  went  out  to  the  bay.  The  natives  who 
had  all  deserted  the  city  were  now  returning,  bring- 
ing with  them  their  worldly  possessions.  As  they 
approached  our  guards  they  waved  large  white  flags, 
placed  on  the  ends  of  sticks.  They  were  permitted 
to  take  up  their  dwelling  places  again,  following 
their  former  vocation.  These  cities  all  have  a  large 
population  of  Chinese,  some  of  the  wealthiest  mer- 
chants being  Chinamen.  Many  are  married  to  Fili- 
pino women. 

As  we  gained  the  shore  of  the  bay,  we  saw  a  long 
pier  extending  out  into  the  water.  Several  boats 
were  tied  up  here  and  unloading  large  quantities  of 
supplies.  Near  by  was  a  small  gunboat  which 


CAMPAIGNING  ON  THE  SOUTH  LINE.  125 

guarded  it.  Too  many  boxes  were  placed  on  the  old 
dock  at  once  and  it  broke  through,  many  boxes 
tumbling  into  the  water.  They  called  on  the  engi- 
neer detachment,  and  they  were  soon  busy  repairing 
the  break.  The  whole  column  was  fitted  out  and 
were  soon  under  way  again,  going  in  the  direction 
of  Majayjay.  The  roads  were  rough  and  it  was 
very  difficult  to  get  our  wagon  trains  over  many 
places.  Our  column  was  now  advancing  over  hills 
and  mountains.  White  flags  were  again  prominent 
and  we  were  forced  to  build  a  bridge  across  a  swift 
mountain  stream.  There  was  not  enough  room  for 
all  the  detachment  to  work,  so  while  one  part  rested 
the  other  part  worked. 

We  were  now  in  that  part  of  the  village  where  the 
natives  were  very  friendly.  A  member  of  our  com- 
pany, a  Jew,  whose  name  was  Gynsburg,  poked 
around  some  of  the  houses,  and  on  removing  a  plug 
from  the  end  of  a  bamboo,  he  discovered  that  on  the 
inside  of  the  hollow  was  a  sword.  This  interested  us 
and  all  were  soon  searching  in  every  direction.  The 
men  of  the  village  now  disappeared,  their  wives  and 
children  remaining.  After  an  hour's  searching  we 
discovered  four  or  five  guns  and  fifty  or  sixty  bolos. 
This  was  a  Filipino  bolo  company,  and  our  column 
advancing  so  rapidly,  they  had  secreted  their  outfits, 
placed  out  their  white  flags  and  remained  at  home. 
These  bolos  were  about  three  feet  long,  with  a 
handle ;  the  back  of  the  blade  is  made  of  heavy  steel, 
the  edge  as  sharp  as  a  razor.  They  have  often  at- 
tacked American  outposts  with  these,  on  dark  nights, 
creeping  up  very  cautiously  and  making  a  rush  on 
them  soon  had  them  overpowered  before  they  were 
.able  to  defend  themselves.  The  bolo  men  had  now 
disappeared;  our  bridge  was  finished,  and  soon  our 
column  was  making  its  way  over  the  rough  moun- 
tain country. 

In  the  afternoon  we  passed  a  large  town  which  the 


126       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

natives  had  fired,  burning  it  to  the  ground.  We 
went  into  camp  in  the  next  village,  it  being  deserted. 
The  next  day,  marching  to  San  Pablo,  the  infantry 
passed  us,  as  we  were  not  able  to  keep  up  with  the 
wagon  trains,  the  roads  being  so  rough.  Night  over- 
took us  in  a  thickly  wooded  country,  about  four  or 
five  miles  from  San  Pablo.  The  infantry  guard  was 
now  a  mile  in  the  rear  as  it  was  impossible  for  them 
to  keep  up.  We  bunched  our  wagons  together,  plac- 
ing outposts  in  every  direction.  The  guards  had  been 
ordered  to  keep  a  sharp  watch,  as  an  attack  was  ex- 
pected any  time  in  this  place.  On  this  main  road 
there  were  two  Jews  and  one  American  placed  on 
watch.  We  were  awakened  along  in  the  night  by  the 
Jews  challenging  some  one,  one  of  them  saying, 
' '  Halt !  who  is  dare  1 ' '  The  other  one  saying. ' '  Halt ! 
who  stopped?"  the  American  challenging  between. 
These  challenges  remained  unanswered  and  the  post 
opened  fire,  using  their  magazine  fire,  eighteen  shots 
being  fired  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it.  Our 
detachment  all  hustled  out  with  rifles  and  belts  ready 
for  the  attack,  but  no  fire  was  returned  and  we  were 
soon  back  asleep  again.  The  moon  now  arose  and 
the  outposts  could  hear  a  racket  out  in  front,  and 
upon  investigating  they  discovered  a  Filipino  pony 
which  had  two  large  packs  of  rice  on  its  back.  It 
was  probably  one  of  the  pack  trains  which  was  carry- 
ing supplies  to  the  Filipino  army,  and  on  being  fired 
upon  this  one  had  become  frightened  and  turned  up- 
side down,  the  bags  of  rice  holding  him  on  his  back. 
This  caused  him  to  kick  the  air  with  his  feet,  creat- 
ing all  this  disturbance.  The  animal  was  released. 
In  the  morning,  after  passing  through  groves  of 
cocoanut  trees,  we  arrived  in  San  Pablo,  where  great 
excitement  prevailed.  A  large  detachment  of  men 
who  had  been  sick  in  the  hospitals  in  Manila  were 
returning  to  join  their  regiments,  which  were  sta- 
tioned here.  They  had  been  ambushed  by  a  strong 


CAMPAIGNING  ON  THE  SOUTH  LINE.  127 

force  of  Filipinos ;  some  were  killed,  some  wounded, 
others  captured.  The  enemy  was  located  on  the 
top  of  a  mountain,  which  was  well  fortified.  This 
was  about  five  miles  east  of  San  Pablo,  on  the  main 
road  from  San  Pablo  to  Santa  Cruz,  which  is  at  the 
end  of  Laguna. 

About  10  o'clock  our  advance  guards  were  fight- 
ing their  way  up  through  underbrush  on  the  moun- 
tain side.  The  battle  lasted  until  evening.  This  was 
called  Santiago  hill  and  the  Filipinos  had  put  up  a 
hard  fight,  but  we  had  flanked  them,  forcing  them  to 
retreat.  Our  loss  was  heavy.  Here  our  column  went 
into  camp  on  top  of  this  hill  or  mountain,  where  our 
outposts  were  attacked  through  the  night.  The  next 
morning  the  Filipinos  retreated  in  the  direction  of 
Majayjay  and  Santa  Cruz,  the  column  following  as 
rapidly  as  possible. 

Everyone  was  now  out  of  rations  and  began  skir- 
mishing for  pigs,  chickens  and  rice,  when  near 
Majayjay,  the  main  column  going  to  that  place,  and 
the  wagon  trains,  artillery  and  one  battalion  of  in- 
fantry and  a  troop  of  cavalry  going  to  Santa  Cruz. 
Our  wagon  trains  were  attacked  several  times  in  the 
afternoon.  Night  overtook  us  near  a  hill  where  the 
Filipinos  had  expected  an  attack  from  the  direction 
of  Santa  Cruz,  but  our  column  coming  in  from  the 
rear,  they  had  deserted  it,  going  in  the  direction  of 
Majayjay. 

This  hill  was  well  intrenched;  at  the  foot  was  an 
intersection  of  roads,  one  leading  to  Majayjay,  one 
to  Santa  Cruz  and  one  toward  San  Pablo.  There 
were  large  bands  of  Filipinos  scattered  in  every 
direction,  all  making  for  Majayjay,  their  main 
stronghold.  Our  outposts  were  attacked  again  this 
night  and  an  exchange  of  shots  continued  through- 
out the  night.  Early  in  the  morning  a  messenger 
arrived  from  General  Schwan,  ordering  every  man 
to  Majayjay.  The  fourteen  troops  of  cavalry,  which 


128       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

had  been  operating  near  Tyabas,  southwest  of  Ma- 
jayjay,  began  to  press  in  around  this  boasted  strong- 
hold, where  the  day  before  Filipinos  had  been  walk- 
ing up  and  around  their  intrenchments  daring  the 
American  soldiers  to  attack  them.  This  day  they 
retreated  without  firing  a  shot,  our  troops  not  hav- 
ing time  enough  to  make  the  complete  movement  be- 
fore they  had  escaped.  Upon  examining  this  strong- 
hold, General  Schwan  declared  it  was  the  strongest 
position  he  had  ever  seen,  and  ordered  a  complete 
map  made  of  it  and  had  it  sent  to  the  war  depart- 
ment. 

General  Malver  had  retreated  to  the  east  with 
his  Filipino  army.  We  began  the  march  again  and 
passed  back  to  Magdelena,  taking  Santa  Cruz  with- 
out firing  a  gun.  Here  the  cavalry  and  pack  trains 
came  in  and  rations  and  clothing  were  distributed. 
After  being  here  two  days  a  flag  of  truce  was  seen 
approaching  along  the  main  road,  and  in  came  three 
or  four  Filipino  officers  with  their  guards,  approach- 
ing General  Schwan 's  headquarters.  The  pre- 
sented him  a  note,  which  informed  him  that  if  he  did 
not  surrender  his  complete  army  at  once,  the  city 
would  be  attacked,  and  he,  Malver,  did  not  wish  to 
have  the  responsibility  of  shedding  blood  on  his 
shoulders.  General  Schwan  informed  his  officers 
that  he  would  welcome  an  attack  at  any  time. 

The  following  day,  the  Fourth  of  July,  General 
Malver  marched  his  entire  army,  numbering  10,000 
men,  into  the  city,  each  one  taking  the  oath  of  allegi- 
ance to  the  United  States,  and  making  a  complete 
surrender. 

Here  an  order  reached  our  captain  and  our  detach- 
ment returned  to  Manila.  Our  captain  had  been 
promoted  to  chief  engineer  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
and  he  now  held  the  rank  of  colonel. 

We  placed  our  equipment  aboard  cascoes,  and  our 
monkey  detachment  was  also  brought  aboard.  We 


UNLOADING    HEMP    FOR    MANILA,    NAICE,    CAVITE    PROVINCE,    P.    I. 


CAMPAIGNING  ON  THE  SOUTH  LINE.  129 

now  had  almost  as  many  monkeys  as  men,  eight  or 
ten  fine  ponies  and  several  game  cocks.  We  were 
certainly  a  laughable  sight  as  we  marched  through 
the  country,  our  lieutenant  remarking,  ' l  we  had  bet- 
ter quit  soldiering  when  we  reach  Manila  and  travel 
as  a  circus  company."  We  were  all  day  in  crossing 
the  lake,  being  towed  across  by  a  tug;  the  distance 
was  about  one  hundred  miles.  No  cooking  could  be 
done  aboard  the  cascoes  and  we  were  compelled  to 
eat  anything  we  laid  hands  on.  Among  our  rations 
was  a  large  can  of  dried  apples.  One  of  the  boys  cut 
the  top  out,  and  we  were  soon  helping  ourselves, 
eating  dried  apples  and  drinking  water.  In  a  short 
time  the  apples  began  to  swell  and  we  were  thinking 
we  had  more  than  we  bargained  for.  Some  of  the 
boys  said  they  had  to  jump  around  to  keep  from  ex- 
ploding. Our  cascoes  arrived  in  Manila  that  night 
about  twelve  o'clock,  and  we  marched  to  Malate, 
again  joining  our  company  headquarters,  which 
were  stationed  permanently  at  this  place.  We  were 
now  issued  new  clothing  and  were  ordered  to  pro- 
ceed with  General  Bates'  column  to  the  extreme 
southern  portion  of  Luzon. 

It  was  necessary  for  this  expedition  to  travel  by 
water,  as  the  southern  part  of  Tayabas  is  crossed 
by  a  mountain  range,  extending  from  coast  to  coast. 
South  of  this  range  are  three  large  provinces,  viz., 
Albi,  South  Camarine  and  North  Camarine.  In 
these  provinces  the  largest  portion  of  hemp  is 
grown,  therefore  making  this  part  of  Luzon  a  desir- 
able tract  to  be  under  American  control. 

Our  detachment  was  placed  on  board  the  chartered 
boat  Athenian.  Near  this  boat  were  several  men  of 
war  and  several  other  vessels.  We  made  our  way 
across  Manila  bay,  passing  Corregidor,  and  headed 
for  the  south.  After  two  days  sail,  passing  between 
islands  of  every  description  and  always  in  sight  of 
land,  the  sailors  one  moonlight  night  pointed  out  to 


130       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

us  the  Southern  Cross.  This  is  composed  of  five 
bright  stars  and  is  as  perfect  as  though  marked  out 
by  a  line.  It  can  not  be  seen  north  of  latitude  4 
degrees,  but  can  be  observed  throughout  southern 
latitude.  We  ran  into  the  cove  of  Albay,  which  is  on 
the  west  coast  of  the  islands,  and  there  landed  a 
garrison.  The  next  morning  found  us  in  the  bay  of 
Lagaspi.  As  we  came  on  deck  we  beheld  rising  up 
before  us  on  the  edge  of  the  water,  the  volcano 
Mayou,  which  is  nearly  10,000  feet  high.  This  vol- 
cano is  very  perfectly  shaped,  the  cone  culminating 
in  a  point,  from  which  issues  a  large  column  of 
smoke;  streams  of  lava  wend  their  way  downward. 
To  the  left  is  the  city  of  Lagaspi,  and  there  a  regi- 
ment was  landed.  The  gunboats  shelled  the  shore, 
driving  the  Filipinos  back. 

Our  boats  continued  on  their  way,  passing  out  of 
Lagaspi  bay,  going  around  the  southern  portion  of 
Luzon,  and  passing  up  its  eastern  coast  to  San  Mig- 
uel Bay ;  there  preparations  were  made  for  our  land- 
ing. The  water  is  shallow  and  boats  can  only  come 
within  several  miles  of  the  shore;  therefore,  it  was 
necessary  for  us  to  make  our  landing  by  being  rowed 
in  life  boats  to  the  shore.  We  were  soon  driving  the 
Filipinos  back  to  Nueva  Caceres,  the  capital  of  the 
province.  Here  they  resisted  very  stubbornly,  but 
were  forced  back. 

Small  gunboats  and  several  transports  proceeded 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Vicol  river,  which  is  navigable 
for  a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  to  the  capital.  As  the 
gunboats  passed  along  this  river,  shelling  the  shore, 
the  natives  began  to  retreat,  the  army  following 
them  out.  Two  days  later  we  were  in  the  capital  of 
the  province  of  South  Camarines.  Directly  across 
the  island  the  volcano  appears,  being  forty  miles  in 
the  distance. 

Eations  were  brought  up  by  boat  and  the  general's 
headquarters  established  at  this  place.  Directly 


CAMPAIGNING  ON  THE  SOUTH  LINE.  131 

across  the  island  from  San  Miguel  bay  to  the  west, 
where  lies  Pasacow  bay,  the  island  was  only  fifteen 
miles  wide  from  one  shore  to  the  other.  A  garrison 
was  now  placed  at  Pasacow,  on  the  bay,  and  our  de- 
tachment ordered  to  repair  the  road  and  make  a 
ferry  across  the  river,  so  rations  could  be  carried 
from  Nueva  Caseres  to  Pasacow.  This  was  a  very 
difficult  task,  as  there  were  many  streams  to  be 
bridged  and  we  had  very  little  material  to  work  with. 
After  two  weeks  of  tedious  work,  skirmishing  after 
lumber,  we  covered  the  distance  of  fifteen  miles, 
building  forty-five  bridges. 

Pasacow  is  a  very  interesting  place,  as  it  is  lo- 
cated in  the  mountains  and  on  the  shore  of  a  beauti- 
ful bay.  Here  large  droves  of  bats  can  be  seen  flying 
hither  and  thither.  They  are  very  large,  being  as 
large  as  the  crow  or  hawk.  At  dusk  as  they  flew 
about  flapping  their  wings,  creating  an  awful  noise, 
the  soldiers  imagined  the  Filipinos  had  attacked 
them  in  flying  machines.  These  mountain  sides 
were  covered  with  fine  mahogany  trees.  They  were 
of  a  great  height  and  free  from  limbs,  except  in  the 
tops,  the  trunks  being  straight.  Beautiful  boards 
are  sawed  from  these  trees.  The  water  here  in  the 
mountains  was  very  pure,  there  being  many  springs. 
Here  some  of  us  saw  for  the  first  time  the  largest 
birds  in  the  world,  the  condor.  This  magnificent 
species  of  birds,  as  they  sit  on  these  mahogany  trees, 
with  their  red,  white  and  gray  spotted  heads,  gray 
bodies  and  white  wings,  make  a  beautiful  picture. 
Oftentimes  we  have  tried  our  marksmanship  on 
them,  but  never  were  cunning  enough  to  secure  one. 
They  would  fly  off,  screaming,  and  cause  one  to  gaze 
after  them  in  astonishment.  Here  in  deep  ravines 
we  often  saw  a  large  animal  resembling  an  alligator, 
except  they  have  longer  legs  and  a  pointed  nose. 
Their  skin  is  dark,  smooth  and  slimy,  resembling 
a  snake.  Some  of  the  largest  are  perhaps  eight  or 


132       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

ten  feet  in  length.  They  are  of  a  sneaking  nature 
and  'as  their  small  eyes  glisten  in  the  distance,  they 
give  one  the  creeps.  They  are  known  here  as  the 
lagarto. 

There  are  lizards  of  many  descriptions,  one  specie 
being  transparent  and  the  color  of  the  object  upon 
which  they  perch.  Here  also  grows  the  sensitive 
plant,  which,  on  being  touched,  the  leaves  close  up 
and  wilt,  reviving  again  after  darkness. 

After  passing  two  days  in  this  mountainous  coun- 
try, we  returned  again  to  Nueva  Caceres.  One  Sun- 
day great  excitement  prevailed  here.  The  sentry 
while  on  outpost,  which  is  in  the  suburbs  of  the  town, 
had  a  deck  of  cards,  playing  solitaire ;  his  comrades 
were  upstairs,  asleep,  it  being  his  turn  for  duty.  A 
'native  approached  him  with  a  large  basket  and  asked 
him  if  he  wished  to  buy  some  eggs.  "No,"  replied 
the  sentry,  and  continued  playing  the  game.  The 
native  stepped  back,  drew  a  bolo  from  under  his 
clothes,  slashed  him  across  the  back  of  the  neck, 
severing  the  head  from  the  body,  and  then  ran  away. 
The  remainder  of  the  guard  hearing  the  noise,  ran 
out,  but  were  too  late  to  see  the  retreating  insur- 
recto.  The  alarm  was  given,  scouting  parties  sent 
out,  who  secured  several  natives  who  had  climbed 
trees  to  be  out  of  the  way,  but  were  never  certain  if 
they  had  got  the  proper  one. 

The  volcano,  Mayou,  now  had  begun  to  show  signs 
of  unrest,  the  atmosphere  became  full  of  soot,  and  it 
was  now  impossible  to  see  the  sun.  The  natives  in- 
formed us  that  it  had  been  thirty  years  since  the  last 
eruption.  It  had  then  destroyed  several  villages  and 
towns.  This  haziness  continued  for  one  week  or 
more.  The  atmosphere  then  became  clear  again,  but 
the  smoke  continued  to  roll  out  in  greater  streams 
than  before.  About  a  week  later,  late  in  the  night, 
we  were  all  awakened  by  a  tremendous  earthquake, 
there  being  separate  shocks,  one  lasting  about  two 


CAMPAIGNING  ON  THE  SOUTH  LINE.  133 

minutes.  Nearly  everyone  ran  down  stairs,  all 
thinking  the  house  would  turn  upside  down.  This 
was  probaby  caused  by  the  filling  in  of  the  cavity 
caused  by  the  soot  and  ashes,  which  came  out  of  the 
volcano. 

Our  detachment  was  now  ordered  to  Iriga,  which 
is  twenty-five  miles  distant,  at  the  foot  of  Mt.  Iriga. 
Here  we  were  to  repair  roads  and  build  several 
bridges  so  our  wagon  trains  could  carry  rations  to 
this  place.  Approaching  Palestine,  which  is  about 
six  miles  from  Iriga,  is  a  leper  hospital.  What  piti- 
ful beings  they  were,  as  they  came  to  the  gateway 
which  was  the  entrance  to  their  grounds,  to  watch 
us  pass  by  with  our  mules  and  wagons.  About  three 
miles  further  on  we  were  attacked  by  a  small  band 
of  insurrectos,  but  we  soon  had  them  dispersed  and 
passed  on  to  the  village  of  Peli  and  remained  there 
several  days,  repairing  bridges  and  roads.  Here 
we  captured  quite  a  number  of  insurrectos  and  put 
them  to  work  on  the  roads.  This  is  in  the  hemp  dis- 
trict. These  plants  or  trees  are  called  paco,  resemb- 
ling somewhat  a  banana  tree,  being  about  ten  or 
twelve  feet  in  height,  with  large  leaves  extending 
from  the  tops.  The  body  is  soft  and  juicy,  being 
about  one  foot  thick.  They  are  cut  down  with  bolos 
in  three  and  four  foot  lengths,  and  then  split  in 
quarters.  These  are  full  of  fine  fibers.  There  is  a 
wooden  bench  made  with  wooden  teeth  extending  up 
and  down,  the  ends  being  placed  between  these  teeth 
and  drawn  through,  thus  separating  the  fibers  from 
the  meat  or  juicy  pulp.  These  fibers  are  then  hung 
up  and  dried,  placed  in  bales  and  shipped  to  Manila, 
where  they  are  made  into  rope.  The  finest  and 
whitest  of  these  fibers  are  woven  into  cloth  and  make 
a  beautiful,  thin  goods  called  pina.  The  natives  make 
shirts  from  this,  which  serve  as  coat  and  vest  also. 

Near  here  is  a  large,  pointed  mountain,  called 
Isarog.  This  perhaps,  one  day  was  a  volcano.  It 


134       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

is  now  covered  with  vegetation  and  trees.  This  is 
a  stronghold  for  the  insurrectos  and  they  cause  a 
great  deal  of  trouble,  coming  out  and  terrorizing 
the  peaceful  natives,  robbing  them  and  then  return- 
ing to  their  hiding  place  in  the  mountains.  We  now 
came  to  a  swift  mountain  stream,  the  bridge  across 
which  was  old,  had  fallen  in  and  it  was  necessary  to 
ford. this  stream.  It  would  have  taken  one  year  to 
bridge  it,  even  if  we  had  had  the  proper  material  to 
build  it  with.  Near  here  are  low  rolling  hills,  the 
road  running  along  the  foot  of  them.  This  is  fine 
grazing  ground,  and  thousands  of  large  cattle  can  be 
seen  here.  We  secured  fresh  beef,  as  the  owner  in- 
formed us  we  might  help  ourselves  whenever  we 
wished  to.  We  passed  through  large  cocoanut 
groves  and  here  natives  were  busy  baling  hemp,  cut- 
ting and  separating  it.  We  soon  arrived  at  Irigo. 
The  natives  had  set  fire  to  this  town,  burning  it  near- 
ly to  the  ground,  but  had  returned  again  and  were 
building  it  up.  This  is  a  health  resort  and  there  are 
many  mineral  springs  boiling  up  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  the  water  being  pure  and  clear.  At  the 
foot  of  these  mountains  are  several  perfume  fac- 
tories. Here  a  small  flower  grows  on  long,  thin  vines. 
The  scent  of  these  is  so  strong  that  one  approach- 
ing may  detect  the  odor  hundreds  of  yards  away. 
This  is  called  Lyanglyang.  From  this,  perfume  is 
made  and  shipped  into  Manila  and  other  large  cities. 
Passing  on  to  the  left,  we  traveled  ten  or  twelve 
miles,  passing  through  a  district  where  there  are 
large  mounds,  some  of  them  attaining  quite  a  height. 
They  are  about  one  mile  apart  and  continue  in  the 
direction  of  the  volcano  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see. 
Returning  in  the  direction  of  Irigo,  we  took  up  our 
quarters  for  the  night  in  a  Filipino  barracks,  con- 
structed from  bamboo.  We  were  awakened  at  mid- 
night by  a  number  of  shots.  Holding  a  number  of 
Filipino  prisoners,  we  thought  they  were  attacking 


CAMPAIGNING  ON  THE  SOUTH  LINE.  135 

us  to  recapture  them.  In  the  morning  we  were  in- 
formed that  a  wealthy  Filipino,  living  near,  had  dis- 
posed of  his  hemp  crop  and  a  band  of  Ladrones  upon 
learning  this,  had  attacked  him,  robbing  him  of  his 
money  and  then  killing  him  and  his  family.  Author- 
ities had  been  notified  in  Irago  and  were  now  search- 
ing for  the  robbers,  who  had  made  their  way  to  the 
mountains  and  there  was  little  hope  of  capturing 
them. 

We  now  returned  to  the  capital  of  the  province. 
The  insurgents  here  had  grown  very  bold,  as  there 
were  not  sufficient  troops  to  garrison  small  villages 
and  the  insurrectos  would  come  out,  rob  the  inbati- 
tants  and  cause  them  to  flee  to  larger  cities,  where 
there  were  American  troops.  Upon  arriving  in  this 
town  we  found  very  few  troops  here,  as  the  majority 
were  out  chasing  bands  of  insurrectos.  Guns  had 
been  issued  to  the  military  band  of  the  Forty-fifth 
Infantry  and  they  were  doing  guard  duty.  As  soon 
as  we  arrived  we  were  placed  on  guard  duty,  reliev- 
ing them.  About  six  miles  up  the  Vicol  river,  above 
the  city  in  the  bend  of  the  river,  the  insurgents  had 
intrenched  themselves  and  allowed  no  one  to  pass  up 
or  down  unless  they  paid  toll.  Large  quantities  of 
hemp  came  down  this  river  to  the  town;  they  would 
hold  up  these  cascoes  and  if  the  owner  did  not  pay  a 
certain  amount  on  each  bale,  they  would  dump  the 
lot  into  the  river  and  send  the  owner  to  return 
home.  A  detachment  of  the  Forty-fifth  Infantry 
was  sent  to  drive  them  out,  and  instead  of  accom- 
plishing this,  the  insurgents  drove  them  back  into 
town.  Our  commanding  general  sent  our  detach- 
ment, which  consisted  of  forty-five  men,  fifteen 
mounted  men,  and  two  mountain  guns.  On  Sunday 
morning  we  received  orders  to  proceed.  Crossing 
the  river  on  the  ferry  which  we  had  built,  passing 
up  the  right  bank,  we  were  soon  nearing  the  bend  of 
the  river,  where  the  insurgents  were  intrenched.  On 


136       ABOUND  THE  WOELD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

the  way  we  passed  through  a  large  deserted .  town, 
from  which  the  natives  had  fled  to  the  capital  so  as 
to  be  under  American  protection.  A  comrade  and  I 
were  in  the  advance  on  the  point  and  when  we  came 
to  the  bend  of  the  river  the  insurrectos  fired  a  volley 
from  the  opposite  side.  Their  aim  was  poor  and  the 
shots  whizzed  far  above  our  heads.  Our  lieutenant 
came  riding  up  and  inquired  what  we  had  been  shoot- 
ing at,  when  about  that  time  another  volley  came  by 
and  he  dismounted,  getting  behind  a  rice  paddie, 
and  asked  no  more  questions. 

Our  detachment  of  artillery  was  now  brought  up 
and  a  fight  ensued  across  the  river.  Our  cavalry  de- 
tachment, passing  in  the  rear,  slipped  across  the 
river  above  and  attacked  their  left  flank.  The  Fili- 
pinos were  now  approaching  across  a  large  rice  field; 
these  were  their  re-enforcements,  and  after  several 
hours  of  firing,  they  were  driven  out,  retreating  to- 
ward the  mountains.  The  cavalry,  on  crossing  the 
river,  had  left  their  horses  on  our  side  and  now  a 
band  had  attacked  them,  and  our  detachment  had  to 
double  time  across  to  where  they  were  tied.  After 
separating,  the  detachment  executed  a  flank  move- 
ment, one  part  charging  across  a  long  field,  the  other 
attacking  on  the  right  flank  and  driving  them  back 
and  dispersing  them.  An  order  had  been  given  that 
to  any  village  from  which  the  Filipinos  were  firing 
the  torch  should  be  applied.  This  was  done,  and 
soon  there  was  a  line  of  smoke  pouring  up  in  every 
direction  and  the  president  or  mayor  of  Nueva 
Caceres,  who  had  accompanied  us,  also  several  na- 
tive police,  were  now  in  high  glee,  and  as  we  re- 
turned they  executed  all  sorts  of  side-steps,  dancing 
along  in  front  of  us  like  a  band  of  braves  on  the  war- 
path. It  was  after  dark  when  we  arrived  in  town, 
and  there  an  order  was  awaiting  us  to  proceed  to 
Pasacow  at  once.  A  detachment  in  the  company  at 
that  station  was  going  to  the  capital  for  rations, 


A    GROUI'    OF    SOLDIERS    WITH    AN    ARMY    MULE. 


CAMPAIGNING  ON  THE  SOUTH  LINE.  137 

and  while  crossing  a  long  bridge  which  had  been  con- 
structed by  us,  a  large  force  of  Filipinos  had  taken  a 
position  on  a  steep  hill  to  the  left  and  fired  from  am- 
bush, wounding  several  and  killing  one.  Being  un- 
able to  drive  them  out,  and  the  telegraph  line  being 
cut,  they  were  unable  to  send  messages,  therefore 
they  sent  a  force  in  a  roundabout  way,  who  had 
brought  us  the  news.  Furnishing  ourselves  with 
rations  and  ammunition,  we  hurried  off  through  the 
dark,  as  our  detachment  was  familiar  with  every 
part  of  this  road,  having  worked  over  it  a  month  or 
so  previous.  At  daylight  we  divided  into  squads  and 
approached  from  side  paths  from  every  direction, 
and  cautiously  crept  up  on  their  position.  As  we 
gained  the  top  of  the  hill  there  was  nothing  to  be 
seen  but  the  remnant  of  their  camp.  ' '  The  bird  had 
flown."  These  hills  and  mountains  were  hotbeds 
for  the  insurgents  and  they  could  slip  out  and  am- 
bush a  small  squad  of  soldiers,  return  and  hide  in 
the  mountain  caves  and  canons,  where  it  was  nearly 
impossible  to  find  them.  There  were  not  sufficient 
troops  here  to  handle  the  situation  and  a  regiment 
of  cavalry  and  one  of  infantry  had  been  ordered 
here.  All  plans  being  carried  out  to  try  and  capture 
these  hostile  bands,  we  returned  to  the  capital. 
There  were  scarcely  any  troops  there  at  all,  as  most 
of  them  were  out  chasing  bands  of  insurgents.  Here 
we  went  into  quarters  again,  cleaning  up,  and  await- 
ing another  call  to  go  out  and  chase  bands  of  insur- 
rectos. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

BACK  TO  MANILA SAILING  FOB   CHINA THE  BATTLE  OF 

TIENTSIN. 

ATIVE  police  had  been  organized  in  the 
towns  surrounding  the  capital  and  presi- 
dents or  mayors  appointed.  The  police 
were  armed  with  Eemington  rifles  so  as 
to  be  able  to  protect  themselves  against 
insurrectos.  At  Calibanga,  there  were  a  large  num- 
ber of  native  police.  The  city  government  had  four 
thousand  pesos  in  the  city  treasury.  A  large  band 
of  insurrectos  had  learned  of  this  by  two  spies  who 
were  around  in  the  village.  They  had  attacked  the 
town  at  night,  drove  the  natives  all  out  and  robbed 
the  treasury  of  the  money. 

The  chief  of  police  held  his  ground,  but  the  odds 
were  against  him,  and  they  secured  the  money  and 
fled,  he  firing  on  them  with  his  Winchester  rifle  as 
they  withdrew.  An  order  soon  reached  our  detach- 
ment, and  we  were  on  their  trail,  capturing  eight  or 
ten  of  them.  One  of  the  lieutenants  of  the  band  was 
among  the  captives.  These  we  turned  over  to  the 
civil  police.  We  took  up  our  quarters  in  the  edge  of 
the  village  and  consulted  with  the  chief  of  police. 
We  then  began  a  rigid  search  for  the  money.  He 
declared  that  they  had  not  been  able  to  carry  it  off 
with  them,  and  that  it  surely  was  hidden  there.  He 
suspected  a  native  woman,  who  was  the  wife  of  the 
captain  of  the  band.  They  had  a  fine  residence  here, 
she  staying  at  home  while  he  was  out  with  his  band 
of  thieves.  A  number  of  us,  in  company  with  the 
chief  approached  their  home  and  surrounded  it.  The 
chief  then  searched  every  part  of  the  premises,  but 
did  not  discover  the  money.  The  woman  pleaded 


140       AROUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

ignorance  in  regard  to  the  matter.  We  kept  close 
guard  through  the  night,  but  found  no  clue  what- 
ever. The  next  day  the  chief  appeared  again  at  their 
home  and  informed  the  woman  if  she  did  not  reveal 
the  hiding  place  she  would  have  to  go  to  prison.  This 
did  not  appear  to  frighten  her  and  placing  her  under 
arrest,  we  took  her  a  short  distance  from  the  house. 
Then  the  chief  secured  a  large  bunch  of  dry  grass 
and  after  lighting  it  started  in  the  direction  of  her 
home,  saying  to  her, ' l  You  know  where  that  money  is 
secreted,  and  if  you  don't  tell  me  this  minute,  I  will 
burn  your  house  to  the  ground."  She  began  to 
scream,  l  i  I  '11  tell  you !  I  known  where  it  is ! "  and 
after  going  about  five  hundred  yards  in  the  rear  of 
the  house  to  a  cocoanut  tree,  she  removed  a  large 
amount  of  brush  and  grass.  Then  digging  in  the 
ground  for  a  few  moments  the  money  was  produced 
with  a  number  of  papers  which  gave  the  names  of 
the  members  of  the  insurrecto's  company.  She  was 
now  told  to  tell  her  husband  that  if  he  did  not  come 
in  and  surrender,  there  would  soon  be  a  large  num- 
ber of  troops  there  to  scour  the  whole  mountain 
until  they  found  him.  We  returned  the  money  to 
the  police  headquarters  and  after  counting  it,  dis- 
covered several  thousand  pesos  more  than  the 
amount  stolen.  This  money  was  turned  over  to  the 
general's  headquarters,  where  it  was  used  in  re- 
modeling bridges  and  roads,  hiring  natives  to  do  this 
work. 

The  prisoners  whom  we  had  turned  over  to  the 
police  were  in  a  pitiful  condition.  They  had  used 
bolos,  cutting  the  leaders  above  the  heel  on  the  left 
foot.  We  shamed  them  and  told  them  this  was  a 
cruel  practice,  to  cripple  men  in  this  way.  They 
told  us  this  had  been  a  Spanish  custom  and  they 
thought  it  would  be  all  right,  as  these  were  three  of 
the  most  desperate  characters  they  had  in  their 
community. 


OFF  FOE  CHINA.  141 

A  cavalry  regiment  had  now  arrived  and  we  re- 
ceived orders  to  return  to  the  capital ;  from  there  to 
Manila.  Arriving  in  Nueva  Caceres,  we  found  a 
small  boat  awaiting  us.  This  was  to  take  us  out  into 
the  bay  to  the  transport,  Lenox,  which  was  to  con- 
vey us  to  Manila.  Having  been  in  this  portion  of 
the  island  over  three  months,  most  of  us  had  many 
acquaintances  among  the  natives.  They  were  very 
sorry  to  see  us  leave  and  shook  hands,  bidding  us 
good-bye  and  asking  if  we  were  returning  to  the 
United  States  and  what  kind  of  a  country  it  was. 
As  our  boat  pulled  away  from  the  dock,  we  gave 
them  three  cheers,  and  waving  them  adieu,  passed 
out  of  sight.  A  few  hours  later  our  small  craft 
brought  us  alongside  the  Lenox  and  we  were  soon 
aboard.  The  anchor  was  lifted  and  our  boat  passed 
out  of  San  Miguel  bay  for  the  island  of  Masbate. 

This  boat  was  used  for  the  transportation  of 
horses  and  mules  to  the  Philippine  Islands.  It  could 
accommodate  about  eight  hundred  animals  on  one 
voyage.  In  the  hulk  were  thousands  of  bales  of  hay 
and  we  had  to  stop  at  the  island  of  Masbate  and 
Marinduque  to  deliver  hay  for  animals  at  these 
places.  When  we  arrived  at  the  principal  port  a 
regiment  was  just  landing.  The  insurgents  had 
made  a  complete  surrender,  delivering  their  arms 
and  ammunition  to  the  American  forces. 

The  next  day  we  arrived  at  Marinduque.  Leaving 
here  the  following  day  we  arrived  at  the  entrance 
to  Manila  bay  at  sunrise.  Crossing  the  bay  and 
dropping  anchor,  we  were  soon  with  our  company 
headquarters  at  Malate.  Here  new  clothing  was 
issued  to  us  and  we  were  soon  in  respectable  condi- 
tion again. 

News  was  now  brought  from  China,  of  a  great 
movement  there,  to  drive  all  foreigners  from  that 
country.  An  outbreak  was  expected  almost  any 
time.  A  large  expedition  of  marines  had  been  landed 


142       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

at  Taku  and  were  making  their  way  to  Peking  to 
protect  the  foreign  legations  which  were  located  at 
the  capital.  This  was  known  as  the  great  Boxer 
movement.  And  now  every  one  was  reading  of  the 
murder  of  missionaries  in  the  interior  of  the  coun- 
try. Many  missionaries  were  making  their  way  to 
seacoast  cities,  and  stories  were  told  of  their  hard- 
ships and  trials. 

The  movement  seemed  to  be  spreading  over  all 
China.  Foreign  countries  were  concerned,  as  all 
powers  had  ministers  with  legations  in  Peking.  The 
Chinese  government  had  declared  they  were  unable 
to  protect  the  legations.  They  notified  them  to  leave 
Peking  and  proceed  to  the  coast  where  they  could  be 
protected  by  men  of  war.  It  was  thought  that  each 
country  would  have  to  land  an  army  and  proceed  to 
Peking  to  protect  their  legation  and  missionaries, 
which  had  poured  into  the  legations  at  that  place  for 
safety  and  protection. 

Manila  was  making  great  strides  toward  improve- 
ment. A  civil  commission  from  the  United  States 
had  arrived  and  public  schools  were  being  estab- 
lished over  the  city;  one  could  observe  a  decided 
change  for  the  better.  Natives  were  becoming  more 
friendly  and  many  were  beginning  to  learn  our 
language  very  rapidly.  One  disappointment  was 
they  appeared  to  learn  the  bad  part  of  our  language 
first.  About  the  first  theing  they  learned  was  to 
swear. 

Oftentimes  upon  asking  them  a  question  they 
would  reply  with  a  filthy  remark,  not  knowing  what 
it  meant.  This  could  be  easily  overcome  with  proper 
education,  and  the  civil  commission  was  using  every 
means  possible  for  their  education  and  enlightment. 
At  this  time  the  city  seemed  infested  with  saloons 
and  low  dives.  A  street  running  parallel  with  our 
quarters  was  named  the  Bowery.  Here  on  one  block 
were  ten  or  twelve  saloons.  Native  musicians  were 


OFF  FOB  CHINA.  143 

in  these  places  with  mandolins  and  guitars,  and  pass- 
ing along  this  street  it  would  remind  you  of  the  great 
Bowery  of  New  York.  Many  soldiers  frequented 
these  places.  We  noticed  in  our  company  a  certain 
portion  of  the  men  were  never  out  on  expeditions, 
but  on  our  return  we  would  see  them  around  the 
company  headquarters,  neat  and  clean,  spending 
most  of  their  time  in  these  dives,  fighting  their  bat- 
tles and  having  their  skirmishes  with  one  another 
over  glasses  of  beer,  while  the  Filipino  musicians 
furnished  them  with  music.  Efforts  were  made  to 
get  these  men  out  on  expeditions  with  us,  but  after 
the  first  day  or  two  they  would  appear  before  the 
doctor,  with  such  pitiful  faces  that  they  were  sent 
to  the  hospital,  then  transported  to  the  First  Reserve 
hospital  in  Manila,  where  after  a  week's  treatment 
they  were  sent  back  to  their  company  and  did  such 
guard  duty  as  was  necessary.  These  were  soon 
named  "coffee  coolers"  and  "home  guards." 

Of  course  there  were  some  who  really  were  sick, 
but  on  recovering  they  were  ready  to  do  their  share 
of  duty.  A  certain  per  cent,  of  our  company  and  I 
suppose  of  others  also,  were  men  who  never  did  very 
much  real  work,  and  had  fine  hospital  records.  One 
thing  remarkable  among  the  natives  was  that  not 
many  were  seen  carousing  or  dissipating.  On  a 
Sabbath  morning  we  could  see  them  attending  ser- 
vices with  their  families.  After  these  services  were 
over  they  returned  home,  and  gathered  up  their  game 
roosters  and  proceeded  to  the  pits  for  the  day.  Here 
they  made  bets  on  the  fighting  qualities  of  these 
birds,  and  one  could  see  money  changing  hands  very 
rapidly.  Sunday  appeared  to  be  the  day  for  this 
sport  and  on  holidays  this  is  also  a  favorite  pastime. 
There  appeared  to  be  a  holiday  once  a  week,  and  at 
times  they  had  fiestas  lasting  one  week  at  a  time. 
Almost  every  village  or  town  we  passed  through 
had  pits  for  rooster  fighting.  I  suppose  if  this  fa- 


144       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

vorite  pastime  was  to  be  stopped  instantly,  it  would 
cause  a  general  insurrection  throughout  the  island. 
Perhaps  the  proper  plan  would  be  to  educate  and 
teach  them  gradually,  and  show  them  that  this  is 
not  right. 

It  was  now  certain  that  an  expedition  would  be 
called  to  China.  Communications  were  cut  off  from 
Peking  and  it  was  not  known  whether  the  envoys 
were  alive  or  not.  The  Ninth  Infantry  was  brought 
into  Manila  and  fitted  out  for  this  first  expedition. 
General  McArthur  was  now  commanding  general  in 
the  Philippines,  the  former  commanding  general, 
Otis,  having  returned  to  the  United  States.  This 
Ninth  Regiment  of  Infantry  had  been  through  the 
north  line  with  General  McArthur 's  division.  They 
had  seen  hard  service  for  nearly  two  years,  were  a 
good  regiment,  and  were  now  to  go  on  the  first  expe- 
dition to  China.  A  detachment  of  twenty  men  from 
the  Engineer  Corps  and  a  detachment  of  Signal 
Corps  were  to  proceed  also.  It  was  supposed  an- 
other regiment  and  artillery  would  follow  as  soon  as 
possible. 

One  morning  a  list  was  hung  up  on  our  company 
bulletin  board,  and  looking  over  this  I  saw  my  name, 
ordering  us  to  equip  ourselves  with  clothing  and  be 
in  readiness  to  leave  in  a  day  or  so.  This  was  a  se- 
lect detachment  and  no  names  could  be  seen  of 
"home  guards"  or  "coffee  coolers."  Many  were 
very  anxious  to  go  but  if  they  had  gone,  they  would 
probably  have  lasted  about  two  days  and  they  then 
would  have  been  in  the  hospital. 

The  Taku  forts  had  been  attacked  and  captured  by 
the  foreign  powers.  The  Americans  had  not  taken 
part  in  this,  the  government  wishing  to  keep  out  of 
difficulties  as  much  as  possible.  This  had  broken  the 
last  straw  and  the  whole  Chinese  Army  had  now 
joined  forces  with  the  Boxers,  and  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment was  now  helpless  so  they  had  to  join  forces 


SOLDIERS    IN    FULL    DRESS    UNIFORM. 


OFF  FOR  CHINA.  145 

also  with  the  Boxers  to  save  themselves.  The  ma- 
rines which  had  proceeded  in  the  direction  of  Peking 
had  retreated  back  near  Tientsin.  Here  they  were 
surrounded  in  an  old  Chinese  fort  and  it  was  not 
known  whether  they  would  be  able  to  escape  or  not. 
Along  about  the  8th  of  June  we  marched  down  to  the 
docks  along  the  Pasig,  stepped  aboard  a  tug  and 
were  soon  on  board  the  great  army  transport  Logan. 
This  great  vessel  had  been  fitted  out  for  American 
soldiers.  This  was  the  largest  boat  we  had  ever 
been  on,  and  every  effort  had  been  taken  to  make  it 
as  comfortable  as  possible  for  the  men.  She  was 
about  500  feet  in  length.  The  bunks  were  neat  and 
comfortable  and  everything  was  clean.  We  were 
furnished  with  a  mess  deck,  tables  being  arranged  so 
one  could  eat  with  comfort.  There  was  a  library  on 
board  and  if  you  wished  to  read  you  could  secure  a 
book  at  any  time.  The  Ninth  Infantry  was  now  on 
board  and  there  was  plenty  of  room  for  every  one. 
We  were  soon  crossing  the  bay  taking  a  look  at 
Mount  Aryat,  as  this  was  a  land  mark  we  all  re- 
cognized. 

Passing  by  Corregidor,  turning  to  our  right  we 
started  our  course  across  the  China  Sea  to  the  north- 
ward, sailing  for  the  harbor  of  Nagasaki.  This 
great  vessel  plowed  through  the  waves,  there  being 
no  rolling  or  rocking  and  it  seemed  as  steady  as  a 
clock  as  we  made  our  way  along.  Every  day  the 
Ninth  Infantry  band  gave  us  a  concert,  which  was 
well  appreciated.  We  would  talk  together  with  the 
infantry  about  our  campaigning  on  the  north  line, 
as  our  detachment  had  been  with  them  on  many  ex- 
peditions and  skirmishes.  Many  pleasant  hours 
were  passed  in  this  way.  After  three  days  of  un- 
eventful sailing  our  lookout  reported  land,  which 
proved  to  be  the  island  of  Formosa.  At  first  it  ap- 
peared like  a  mighty  cloud  in  the  distance.  This 
island  is  controlled  by  the  Japanese,  they  having 


146       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

acquired  it  after  the  war  with  China,  about  ten  years 
previous.  We  followed  the  shore  for  two  days  and 
then  sighted  the  island  of  Kinshu  on  which  Nagasaki 
is  situated.  In  the  morning  at  daylight  the  pilot  ap- 
peared in  his  boat  stepped  aboard  and  took  charge  of 
the  wheel  and  we  were  soon  entering  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  harbors  in  the  world.  A  boat  with  a  yellow 
flag  approached,  our  speed  was  diminished  and  the 
quarantine  doctors  came  aboard.  The  troops  were 
all  lined  up  along  the  decks  and  these  two  neat  little 
men  in  uniforms  passed  along  the  line  of  large  Amer- 
ican soldiers,  peering  into  their  faces  for  marks  of 
sickness  or  disease,  looking  like  schoolboys.  They 
were  very  polite  to  our  doctors,  conversing  in  broken 
English.  Directly  our  quarantine  flag  was  hauled 
down  from  the  foremast  and  we  were  making  our 
way  slowly  past  the  forts  on  high  bluffs;  we  soon 
passed  into  the  harbor. 

Here  high  hills  and  mountains  can  be  seen  in  every 
direction,  and  our  vessel  was  soon  passing  boats  of 
every  description.  As  our  anchor  was  lowered  about 
three  miles  from  shore,  small  boats  approached  from 
every  direction,  swarming  around  us  like  bees.  In 
these  were  Japanese  selling  souvenirs  and  trinkets 
of  every  description,  and  tailors  with  samples  of 
clothing,  soliciting  your  orders  for  tailor  made 
clothes.  It  a'ppeared  as  though  one  did  not  need  to 
land  and  go  into  the  city,  as  these  little  brown  men 
could  supply  you  with  anything  you  wished  from 
their  small  bom-boats.  Soon  small  vessels  laden  with 
coal  were  run  along  side  and  hundreds  of  natives, 
men,  women  and  children,  many  of  the  women  with 
their  children  tied  upon  their  backs  were  brought 
along  side  in  large  lighters.  Then  small  round 
baskets  woven  from  tough  straw  appeared,  a  small 
gangway  was  placed  up  against  the  ship  from  the 
coal  bunkers,  a  double  line  was  made  from  the  coal 
barge  to  our  vessel,  the  baskets  were  filled  with  coal 


OFF  FOE  CHINA.  147 

and  passed  along  from  hand  to  hand  and  soon  the 
coal  came  streaming  up.  These  were  then  passed 
back  to  be  refilled,  and  passed  on  again  on  the  op- 
posite line.  Men,  women  and  children  were  engaged 
in  this,  and  it  was  certainly  amusing  to  watch  them 
—talking,  laughing  and  singing  all  the  while.  Many 
of  the  small  children  who  are  tied  on  their  mothers' 
backs  pass  the  time  away  and  amuse  themselves  by 
biting  on  chunks  of  coal. 

Perhaps  no  harbor  in  the  world  has  a  more  ancient 
custom  of  coaling  ships  than  this  one.  We  received 
passes  to  go  ashore  and  look  over  the  city.  Entering 
a  bom-boat  we  were  soon  ashore,  where  there  were 
hundreds  of  Japanese  with  "jinrikishas."  These 
were  two-wheeled  carriages,  very  small  and  neat, 
with  a  top,  and  were  drawn  by  men.  One  at  first 
feels  uncomfortable  but  they  are  so  eager  to  haul 
you,  that  one  can  hardly  refuse  them.  Stepping  into 
one  of  these  carriages,  the  two  little  husky  brown 
men  are  soon  drawing  you  over  smooth  pavements. 
One  does  not  feel  very  comfortable,  but  then  you  can 
console  yourself  by  the  old  saying  "When  you  are 
in  Rome  do  as  the  Romans  do. "  .  But  it  does  seem 
hard  to  see  these  human  beings  making  beasts  of 
themselves. 

We  visited  several  places  of  interest,  several 
temples  and  a  park  where  General  Grant  on  his  tour 
around  the  world  had  planted  a  tree.  This  is  pros- 
perous and  is  well  cared  for;  they  point  it  out  with 
great  pride.  Their  method  of  architecture  seems 
odd.  Most  of  the  buildings  are  very  small  and  neat. 
The  streets  are  patrolled  by  police,  who  carry 
swords.  Carriages  were  not  seen  as  the  "rikishas" 
take  their  place.  Small  horses  or  ponies  were  used 
for  draying  purposes.  There  were  no  street  cars 
here  at  this  time,  but  a  railway  runs  from  this  place 
into  the  interior  of  the  island.  The  Japanese  gov- 
ernment has  a  shipyard  here  where  small  gunboats 


148       ABOUND  THE  WOBLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

were  made,  and  dry  docks  where  larger  vessels  could 
be  repaired.  Quite  a  number  of  Americans  were  in 
business  here,  many  of  them  being  ex-soldiers  from 
the  Philippines. 

In  two  days  our  vessel  was  coaled  up,  the  United 
States  crusier  Brooklyn  coming  into  the  harbor 
while  we  lay  there.  The  battleship  Oregon  passed 
out  just  ahead  of  us  bound  for  Taku.  Several  of 
the  Japanese  men  of  war  were  being  repaired  as  they 
had  been  damaged  while  attacking  the  Taku  forts. 
Every  one  was  now  aboard  and  we  left  this  beautiful 
little  harbor,  making  our  way  out  into  the  Yellow 
Sea,  sailing  to  the  northwest  toward  Taku,  and  after 
a  day  or  two  we  passed  into  the  Gulf  of  Pechili.  The 
water  now  had  a  yellow  cast,  caused  by  the  rivers  of 
China  emptying  into  this  gulf  or  sea,  their  banks 
being  of  yellow  clay.  This  is  why  it  is  called  the 
Yellow  Sea.  We  now  passed  in  sight  of  Port  Arthur. 
This  great  Gilbraltar  of  the  east  had  been  captured 
by  the  Japanese  during  their  war  with  China,  but 
was  now  under  Russian  control  and  is  the  termina- 
tion of  the  great  Trans-Siberian  railway.  We  now 
sighted  the  masts. of  many  vessels  and  as  our  boat 
approached  near,  one  imagined  that  the  whole  gulf 
was  filled  with  these  vessels.  We  passed  many 
Chinese  junks.  Their  sails  were  the  square  rigging 
and  they  were  perhaps  modeled  after  the  ancient 
type  of  two  thousand  years  before  this  time.  They 
looked  much  out  of  place  as  our  large  steamer  went 
rolling  by  them  waiting  neither  for  wind  or  tide. 

Our  boat  now  passed  vessels  of  every  type.  Our 
band  was  on  the  main  deck  playing  the  national  airs 
of  England,  Germany,  France,  Russia,  Italy  and 
Japan.  As  we  passed  by  these  flags  soon  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  were  sighted  and  the  band  took  up  the 
tune  of  The  Star  Spangled  Banner,  the  men  cheer- 
ing and  waving  their  hats.  The  Jackies  on  board 
appeared  on  deck  answering  our  salute.  The  an- 


OFF  FOR  CHINA.  149 

chor  was  lowered  and  we  were  lying  off  Taku,  China, 
where  every  world  power  was  represented,  and  a 
mixed  army  of  nearly  every  country  was  landing  to 
go  to  the  relief  of  their  missionaries  and  envoys,  who 
were  now  besieged  in  the  capital  of  the  most  densely 
populated  country  in  the  world. 

Our  commanding  officer  was  soon  in  communica- 
tion with  the  navy  department,  and  they  sent  out 
small  steam  launches  in  search  of  lighters  that  we 
might  land  as  we  could  not  get  nearer  shore  than 
ten  miles.  There  were  many  Japanese  transports, 
and  they  were  landing  soldiers  by  the  thousands, 
the  English  government  landing  many  East  Indian 
troops,  and  the  Russians  sending  over  many  troops 
from  Port  Arthur.  After  searching  for  one  or  two 
days  lighters  were  secured;  and  now  the  transport 
Port  Albert  with  mules,  horses,  army  transportation 
wagons  and  ambulances  arrived  and  we  were  trans- 
ferred to  this  boat,  loading  up  lighters  with  horses, 
mules  and  wagons. 

The  Ninth  Infantry  had  already  disembarked  and 
gone  towards  Tientsin.  Mules  were  taken  into  Taku 
and  we  made  our  way  in  there  at  night,  in  life  boats 
towed  by  small  launches,  arriving  at  Taku  about 
daylight.  What  a  dilapidated  place  it  is.  Every- 
thing resembling  mud.  The  water  in  the  river  is  so 
muddy  that  it  looks  thick.  We  searched  every  place 
for  water  to  make  coffee ;  at  last  we  found  it  aboard 
an  old  United  States  gunboat,  Monocracy,  which  had 
been  in  service  here  in  the  Peiho  river,  around  Tien- 
tsin and  Taku,  since  the  Civil  War. 

A  railroad  runs  from  here  to  Tientsin  which  is 
about  forty  miles  distant.  The  Russians  had  charge 
of  this,  and  it  was  operated  to  within  ten  miles  of 
Tientsin,  where  a  large  bridge  had  been  destroyed 
by  the  Chinese.  That  was  as  far  as  they  were  able 
to  proceed  until  it  had  been  repaired.  The  native 
portion  of  the  town  here  looked  as  though  it  was 


150       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

all  mud,  most  of  the  houses  are  constructed  from 
clay,  the  roofs  being  woven  in  with  cornstalks  and 
mud  placed  over  the  top,  which  is  baked  in  the  sun 
and  allows  the  water  to  run  off.  There  were  no 
Chinese  here  now  except  a  few  servants  of  officers. 
Many  missionaries  were  passing  down  the  rivers  on 
lighters  and  barges.  Many  going  aboard  the  trans- 
port Logan.  There  was  a  Russian  garrison  in  this 
town  and  many  of  their  wounded  were  now  coming  in 
here  from  Tientsin,  where  they  had  been  fighting. 
We  soon  had  many  wagons  and  mules  loaded  aboard 
the  train,  traveling  in  the  direction  of  Tientsin. 

For  a  distance  the  country  is  low  and  swampy, 
very  few  trees  are  to  be  seen  and  it  makes  one  about 
half  homesick.  After  traveling  several  miles  there 
was  a  rise  in  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  to  the 
right  about  two  miles  on  a  point  there  is  a  Chinese 
village,  which  looked  like  a  large  chunk  of  clay  in  the 
distance.  No  Chinese  were  in  sight  and  a  little  far- 
ther on  we  passed  a  Russian  guard.  These  were 
1 '  Cossacks ' '  and  were  patrolling  with  their  Siberian 
horses.  The  horses  somewhat  resemble  mustangs. 
These  soldiers  were  rough  looking  fellows,  heavy 
set  and  well  proportioned,  many  having  beards  and 
being  coarse  featured.  We  passed  many  of  these 
detachments  along  the  railroad;  now  they  consisted 
of  Russians  and  Japanese.  They  camped  within 
a  short  distance  from  one  another. 

Looking  off  several  miles  to  the  left  one  could  dis- 
cern long  rows  of  green  trees.  The  soil  is  now  cov- 
ered With  green  grass  and  it  begins  to  look  more  like 
a  civilized  place  to  live  in.  Boats  are  visible  on  the 
Peiho  river.  The  ground  seems  lower  and  one  im- 
agines they  are  crossing  the  land  on  wheels  as  the 
water  is  not  visible.  Small  villages  can  be  seen 
dotted  among  the  trees  that  have  a  more  respectable 
appearance.  They  are  constructed  from  bricks, 
many  of  them  being  well  designed.  Our  train  had 


OFF  FOE  CHINA.  151 

now  reached  the  wrecked  bridge,  where  a. large  force 
of  Russian  engineers  were  at  work  repairing  it. 
Here  we  unloaded  and  began  hitching  the  mules  to 
the  wagons  and  ambulances,  loading  them  with  ra- 
tions and  supplies.  Here  were  Russian  and  Japan- 
ese guards.  Our  commander  had  a  Japanese  inter- 
preter, and  they  were  soon  consulting  in  regard  to 
the  wagon  road  to  Tientsin.  The  Japanese  officer 
furnished  us  with  a  mounted  guide  as  they  were 
familiar  with  the  country.  As  our  large  army  trans- 
portation wagons  with  their  white  canvas  covers 
and  large  covered  ambulances  drawn  by  four  clean 
and  sleek  mules  passed  along,  the  Russian  and  Jap- 
anese guards  stood  staring  at  us  with  open  mouths. 
Perhaps  wondering  where  these  curious  looking  out- 
fits came  from.  The  road  was  good  and  solid  and  our 
mules  made  good  time.  This  country  was  under  fine 
cultivation,  and  large  gardens  with  straight  rows  of 
many  different  kinds  of  vegetables  were  seen.  To 
the  right  a  short  distance  was  a  large  Chinese 
arsenal,  which  the  Russians  had  captured.  They 
had  a  strong  guard  here  and  a  Russian  general  was 
inspecting  his  troops.  As  we  approached  they 
gazed  at  us  with  wonder,  the  inspection  was  sus- 
pended and  a  sign  was  made  for  us  to  stop.  A 
general  and  a  large  number  of  his  staff  approached 
us.  One  of  our  teamsters  could  speak  the  Russian 
language  and  he  acted  as  interpreter.  This  general 
wanted  to  inspect  our  outfit;  then  with  our  com- 
mander he  observed  every  part  of  it,  and  declared  it 
the  finest  army  field  transportation  he  had  ever  seen. 
He  inquired  what  four  mules  like  those  would  cost. 
Our  commander  told  him  in  the  United  States  they 
would  cost  about  seven  hundred  dollars,-  but  after 
transporting  them  to  the  Philippines  and  China  it 
doubles  their  value  and  probably  now,  they  would 
be  worth  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  He  remarked  that 
our  government  must  be  wealthy.  We  now  pro- 


152       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

ceeded  in  the  direction  of  Tientsin,  where  a  great 
battle  was  being  fought.  We  were  now  in  a  large 
Chinese  village  at  the  edge  of  the  wall  of  Tientsin. 
There  lay  several  dead  Chinamen,  and  a  large  pack 
of  sneaking,  ugly  dogs  were  eating  away  at  them. 
This  gave  me  a  hatred  for  Chinese  dogs  and  I  never 
could  bear  sight  of  one  thereafter.  The  sound  of 
guns  came  nearer  and  we  crossed  a  pontoon  bridge 
over  the  Peiho  river,  passing  many  Japanese  and 
Russian  guards.  Here  brick  structures  had  been 
pierced  by  artillery.  No  Chinese  were  in  sight  for 
they  had  all  been  driven  inside  the  walled  city  of 
Tientsin,  where  the  fighting  was  raging.  Russians, 
Japanese,  English,  French,  Germans  and  Americans 
were  fighting  side  by  side.  Our  wagon  train  stopped 
at  the  American  headquarters  in  a  large  Chinese 
coffin  works.  Gates  had  been  battered  down  and 
troops  were  now  forcing  their  way  into  the  Chinese 
city  of  Tientsin,  around  which  is  a  wall  35  feet  high 
and  25  feet  thick. 

The  tops  of  these  walls  are  loop-holed  and  Chinese 
artillery  had  poured  a  murderous  fire  from  the  top 
of  this  wall.  The  colonel  of  the  Ninth  Infantry  had 
been  killed  and  several  hundred  officers  and  men 
killed  and  wounded.  These  soldiers  had  advanced 
against  this  wall  and  had  got  within  two  hundred 
yards  of  it;  it  is  surrounded  by  a  large  moat  filled 
with  water.  The  Chinese  had  gathered  their  forces 
on  the  wall  in  front  of  the  attacking  party,  they  be- 
ing behind  a  mud  embankment  and  were  not  able  to 
advance  or  retreat.  The  battalion  of  marines  under 
Major  Waller  in  company  with  a  force  of  English, 
had  forced  their  way  through  the  gate  on  the  left. 
The  Japanese  forcing  their  way  through  the  right 
gate  and  thus  relieving  them.  The  firing  still  con- 
tinued for  a  week  longer  in  every  part  of  the  city. 
The  Chinese  had  left  everything  behind  and  looting 
was  done  in  every  part  of  the  city.  Men,  women  and 


OFF  FOR  CHINA.  153 

children  were  shot  and  the  soldiers  fired  on  any  one 
who  resembled  a  Chinaman. 

This  was  a  terrible  spot  for  the  next  two  weeks, 
and  it  was  estimated  that  30,000  dead  Chinamen  were 
in  and  about  the  city.  Colonel  Liscum's  body  was 
placed  in  a  Chinese  coffin,  placed  aboard  a  boat  and 
taken  to  Taku,  where  it  was  buried.  This  was  the 
greatest  battle  of  the  allied  forces'  advance  toward 
Peking.  Thousands  of  Chinese  non-combatants  were 
beginning  to  make  their  appearance  around  the  city. 
The  fighting  here  was  over,  and  the  Chinese  army 
had  retreated  to  Peisang,  where  they  were  intrench- 
ing themselves.  This  place  is  on  the  Peiho  river,  in 
the  direction  of  Peking.  Detachments  were  sent  out 
to  secure  Chinese,  bringing  them  into  the  city,  and 
setting  them  to  work  cleaning  up,  and  burying  the 
dead.  These  were  pitiable  looking  objects  with  their 
blue  cotton  clothing,  long  cues  and  cloth  shoes,  many 
of  them  being  filthy  and  dirty.  This  was  the  poorer 
class  of  Chinese,  and  they  were  the  ones  who  suffered 
greatest  at  this  time. 

Large  quantities  of  rice  had  been  secured  in  store 
houses  and  all  Chinese  working  under  American 
guard,  were  fed  and  received  ten  cents  per  day.  This 
news  soon  circulated  and  the  Americans  had  more 
laborers  than  they  could  take  charge  of. 

Tientsin  is  built  along  the  banks  of  the  Peiho  river. 
This  is  a  dirty,  filthy  stream,  the  water  is  at  no  time 
clear  and  is  not  even  fit  to  bathe  in.  Small  gunboats 
and  boats  of  light  draft  can  navigate  as  far  as  Tien- 
tsin. Junks  are  used  north  of  Tientsin  towards 
Peking,  these  being  built  with  flat  bottoms  and 
about  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  length.  They  can  carry 
heavy  loads  and  are  polled  up  the  river  or  a  rope  is 
placed  to  the  front  end  and  men  from  the  shore  draw 
them  along.  Tientsin  is  built  in  two  parts,  the 
Chinese  city  and  the  foreign  city.  The  Chinese  pop- 
ulation is  about  1,000,000.  It  is  surrounded  by  a 


154       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

high  wall  constructed  from  large  gray  brick,  which 
are  placed  on  the  edges,  the  center  filled  in  with  clay, 
which  becomes  baked,  and  tough  and  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  break  through  this.  There  are  four  prin- 
cipal streets,  two  running  north  and  south,  and  two 
east  and  west.  The  side  streets  are  very  narrow, 
some  of  them  hardly  permitting  two  men  to  pass. 
These  streets  cross  each  other  and  run  in  every 
direction,  and  of  course  it  will  take  an  expert  to 
keep  from  getting  lost  in  these  places.  People  live 
in  here  like  rats  and  after  one  visits  these  places  it 
does  not  surprise  you  at  the  amount  of  plagues  the 
country  contains.  Wealthy  Chinamen  have  more 
room  to  live  in  and  finer  residences,  and  in  this  coun- 
try one  may  see  what  power  wealth  has. 

Foreign  Tientsin  is  south  of  the  Chinese  city.  This 
part  is  built  on  modern  plans ;  fine  broad  streets  and 
avenues,  shade  trees,  and  it  seems  like  going  from 
darkness  into  light  as  you  pass  from  one  to  the  other. 
Foreign  Tientsin  is  inhabited  by  Europeans  and 
Americans.  Large  missions  have  been  built  and 
missionaries  gather  in  native  children,  educating 
them  and  teaching  them  Christianity.  A  great  many 
missionary  societies  are  represented  here  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  This  city  is  spread  over  a  great 
area  of  ground  and  at  the  southern  portion  along  the 
banks  of  the  river  is  an  immense  structure  called 
the  Tientsin  University.  This  was  built  by  the 
Chinese  government  and  English,  German  and  Amer- 
ican instructors  employed.  A  certain  number  of 
Chinese  scholars  are  placed  in  here  each  year,  where 
they  take  a  course  and  graduate.  The  president 
of  this  university  at  this  time  was  Professor  Tinney, 
an  American.  It  was  rumored  that  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment in  order  to  save  and  preserve  this  building 
had  transferred  it  to  this  man.  Our  detachment 
needed  several  draftsmen  for  completing  our  maps 
and  upon  recommendation  from  the  professor  of 


OFF  FOR  CHINA.  155 

this  college  our  officers  employed  a  graduate  by  the 
name  of  Chang.  He  remained  with  us  all  through 
the  service  in  China.  We  gained  very  much  valuable 
information  from  this  man,  he  being  one  of  the,  most 
intelligent  Chinamen  we  had  ever  met,  and  able  to 
speak  English  very  fluently.  The  city  now  had  a 
cleaner  appearance,  and  thousands  of  soldiers  were 
arriving  daily,  mostly  Japanese,  Russians  and  Eng- 
lish. The  English  soldiers  were  East  India  troops, 
transported  from  Singapore  and  other  points  in 
India.  They  were  tall,  dark  and  neat  in  appearance, 
very  superstitious,  most  of  them  being  Moham- 
medans. It  appeared  as  though  every  officer  and 
soldier  had  a  servant  with  them,  they  being  in  their 
native  dress,  with  their  large  turbans  bound  about 
their  heads  and  scarcely  any  clothing  covering  their 
bodies,  looking  as  though  they  had  too  much  head. 
The  tribe  most  largely  represented  was  Sikhs  and  we 
nicknamed  these  bands  of  servants,  which  followed 
their  army  in  droves  the  "Ragged  Sikhs." 

The  Japanese  army  was  very  neat  and  when  a 
regiment  was  lined  up  every  man  looked  the  same 
size,  and  as  our  boys  remarked  when  you  see  one  Jap- 
anese soldier  you  have  seen  the  whole  army,  they 
resemble  one  another  so  much.  The  Russians  were 
large,  heavy,  awkward  looking  fellows,  moving  about 
very  slowly  and  clumsily,  wearing  boots  and  when  a 
company  went  marching  down  the  street,  their  boots 
striking  the  ground,  made  a  sound  which  would  echo 
and  could  be  heard  quite  a  distance.  The  French 
soldiers  were  neat,  with  the  exception  of  their  uni- 
forms, which  looked  as  if  they  had  been  made  for 
clowns,  instead  of  soldiers.  The  Germans  were  well 
uniformed  and  pleasant  looking  men,  but  on  seeing 
them  walk  or  march  about  you  could  plainly  see  the 
very  severe  training  and  you  would  imagine  they 
were  machine  soldiers,  everything  they  did  was  pre- 
cise and  had  a  military  air  about  it. 


156       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

The  real  English  soldier  somewhat  resembles  the 
German,  as  their  walk  shows  military  training,  and 
you  never  see  them  out  of  their  tents  without  their 
blouses  buttoned  up,  and  when  out  on  an  ordinary 
walk,  or  when  turning  to  right  or  left  executing  flank 
marches  as  though  they  were  under  orders,  or  on  the 
drill  ground.  It  seemed  odd  to  see  the  American 
soldiers  mingling  with  this  mixed  army;  these  tall 
fellows  in  their  shirt  sleeves,  their  light  shoes  and 
leggings  taking  their  long  easy  strides,  their  broad 
brimmed  campaign  hats,  making  them  look  more  like 
civilians.  These  could  be  marked  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  see.  We  had  several  Germans  in  our  detach- 
ment and  many  German  soldiers  asked  what  America 
was  doing  with  all  these  civilians  over  here. 

Here  we  were,  all  mingled  together  awaiting  more 
troops  so  as  to  proceed  to  Peking  and  relieve  our 
legations  there.  Several  Chinese  converts  made 
their  way  from  the  legations  in  Peking,  bearing  notes 
from  several  of  the  ministers  there,  thus  informing 
us  they  were  hard  pressed  and  had  fortified  them- 
selves around  the  legations,  and  were  fighting  for 
their  lives  day  and  night.  There  were  eight  or  nine 
hundred  marine  guards  there,  many  of  them  were 
wounded,  ammunition  and  rations  were  running 
short,  and  if  help  did  not  come  soon,  they  would  be 
compelled  to  surrender. 

The  Fourteenth  Infantry  had  now  arrived  from 
Manila  and  Captain  Eiley's  battery  of  light  artillery 
also.  The  Sixth  United  States  Cavalry  had  come 
from  the  United  States  and  with  them  General 
Chaffee,  our  commanding  general.  I  had  served 
under  this  man  in  Cuba,  and  knew  that  the  govern- 
ment could  send  no  better  man  to  take  command  of 
their  army  under  these  circumstances.  As  he  stepped 
from  the  tug  which  brought  him  up  the  river,  there 
were  those  lines  of  determination  in  his  face,  which 
one  does  not  forget  after  seeing  men  of  this  type. 


OFF  FOB  CHINA.  157 

We  knew  something  would  happen  now  and  it  would 
not  be  very  long  in  coming  either.  The  next  morn- 
ing after  his  arrival  all  foreign  generals  held  a  coun- 
cil of  war.  The  majority  were  in  favor  of  awaiting 
more  troops  declaring  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
capture  Peking  with  this  number  of  soldiers — 18,000 
in  all.  General  Chaffee  informed  them  that  his  gov- 
ernment had  sent  him  there  to  proceed  to  Peking  and 
relieve  their  minister  there,  who  was  in  deadly  peril, 
and  that  in  four  days  he  intended  to  depart  from 
Tientsin  if  he  had  to  take  what  American  soldiers  he 
commanded  there  and  make  the  attack  himself.  This 
threw  a  different  light  on  the  condition  of  affairs, 
and  they  finally  decided  to  depart  with  him.  So  ev- 
erything was  now  in  a  rush,  and  hurry.  Junks  were 
secured,  rations  loaded  on  them,  and  every  one  was 
busy  working  away,  for  in  three  more  days,  we 
would  start  on  the  advance  to  the  great  Capital  of 
China. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  ADVANCE  FROM  TIENTSIN THE  CAPTURE  OF  PEKING 

RELIEVING  THE  LEGATIONS. 


T  had  been  decided  on  this  advance  that 
the  generals  of  the  different  powers 
would  consult  with  each  other  each  day, 
and  there  would  be  no  regular  com- 
mander of  the  allied  army  at  this  time. 
General  Waldersee  had  been  chosen  commander  of 
the  allied  army,  but  he  had  not  arrived  yet  and  it 
would  be  better  for  the  expedition  to  be  made  with- 
out a  chosen  commander.  The  largest  number  of 
soldiers  was  the  Japanese,  then  Eussians,  English, 
Americans,  French  and  Germans,  respectively.  One 
evening  about  four  o  'clock  we  proceeded  through  the 
foreign  city,  across  into  the  Chinese  city  of  Tientsin, 
passed  beyond  the  walls  about  three  miles  and  went 
into  camp  in  front  of  Piesang. 

The  next  morning  the  Japanese  were  to  lead  the 
advance  and  in  the  morning  about  two  o'clock  we 
were  awakened  by  the  Japanese  artillery  shelling  the 
Chinese  position.  The  Chinese  artillery  returned 
the  fire  and  one  could  hear  the  whizzing  of  shells  as 
they  passed  through  the  air,  some  dropping  near, 
others  going  far  above  our  heads.  Now  we  could 
hear  the  popping  of  small  guns,  and  soon  there  began 
a  general  roar.  The  Chinese  were  stubborn  and 
hard  to  drive  back,  but  after  seven  hours  of  hard 
fighting  they  retreated  toward  Yangsung.  We  now 
advanced  through  Piesang  going  several  miles  be- 
yond and  going  into  camp  on  the  banks  of  the  Peiho 
river,  where  a  large  pontoon  bridge  spans  the  river. 
There  the  junks  began  to  arrive  from  Tientsin,  float- 
ing every  manner  of  flag.  These  were  loaded  down 


160       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

with  thousands  of  rations,  which  were  to  supply  the 
army.  The  American  army  had  the  only  real  first- 
class  transportation  on  this  advance,  we  being  able 
to  carry  supplies  enough  on  our  wagon  train  to  carry 
us  through  to  Peking.  Other  countries  had  two- 
wheeled  carts,  with  small  mules  and  ponies,  and 
they  could  not  furnish  their  troops  with  more  than 
two  days '  rations  at  a  time. 

In  the  morning  every  one  was  up  bright  and  early, 
for  this  day  the  Americans  were  to  lead  the  advance. 
It  was  expected  Yangsung  would  be  a  hard  battle. 
Marching  over  a  dry  sandy  plain  till  about  half  past 
nine  o  'clock  the  Chinese  outposts  opened  fire  from  a 
small  village,  about  three  miles  in  front  of  Yang- 
sung.  Here  the  Tientsin  and  Peking  railroad  crossed 
the  Peiho  river.  There  was  nothing  left  of  this  but 
the  embankment.  Railroad  ties  and  depots  had  all 
disappeared  and  the  Chinese  had  begun  to  carry 
away  the  big  iron  bridge,  which  spans  the  river  at 
Yangsung.  Their  outposts  were  driven  back  across 
the  railroad  embankment,  and  there  a  great  artillery 
duel  took  place.  American,  English,  Russian  and 
French  batteries  shelling  the  Chinese  positions.  The 
Fourteenth  Infantry,  Ninth  Infantry  and  two  bat- 
talions of  American  marines  and  the  English  Sikhs 
charged  the  railroad  embankment,  driving  the 
Chinese  back  through  the  city  of  Yangsung,  the  artil- 
lery following  them  up,  shelling  them  as  they  re- 
treated, the  Fourteenth  Infantry  losing  very  heavily. 
After  four  hours  of  fierce  fighting,  the  Chinese  re- 
treated in  the  direction  of  Peking,  the  East  India 
Royal  Bengal  Lancers  following  them  and  capturing 
quite  a  number.  Here  it  was  necessary  to  remain  a 
day,  to  send  our  wounded  back  and  bury  the  dead. 
The  Japanese  continued  following  the  retreating 
Chinamen.  On  the  following  day  we  left  Yangsung 
crossing  the  river  again,  making  for  Howsoun.  We 
passed  through  many  Chinese  villages,  following 


TARGET    PRACTICE   ON    AN    ARMY    RANGE. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PEKING.  161 

close  on  the  heels  of  the  Japs.  A  line  of  smoke  could 
be  seen  ahead  and  they  were  burning  everything  as 
they  passed  along.  This  night  we  camped  near 
Howsoun,  the  Japanese  still  in  the  lead.  The  Chinese 
army  was  now  making  a  run  of  it  to  Peking,  many  of 
them  scattering  to  the  right  and  left.  We  were  pass- 
ing through  a  rich  fertile  country,  where  there  were 
thousands  of  acres  of  broom  corn  and  fine  gardens. 
No  Chinamen  were  to  be  seen  through  the  country. 
The  next  day  found  us  in  Matow  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  again.  Here  in  the  evening  we  found  thous- 
ands of  firecrackers.  The  boys  took  them  out  and  lit 
them  for  amusement.  We  were  passing  hundreds  of 
Japanese  unable  to  keep  up  with  their  column.  This 
day  we  crossed  a  long  low  line  of  sand  hills,  where 
the  English  Royal  battery  of  artillery  lost  many 
horses,  overcome  by  heat. 

Our  army  mules  passed  over  these  very  easily. 
At  night  we  camped  near  a  walled  city.  The  next 
day  we  arrived  at  Tung-Chou,  seventeen  miles  from 
Peking.  This  city  is  on  the  banks  of  the  Peiho  river 
and  has  a  population  of  800,000  inhabitants.  There 
is  a  canal  running  from  here  to  Peking.  We  could 
now  see  the  mountains  in  the  distance.  A  long  range 
running  from  the  northwest  to  the  southeast.  We 
had  now  overtaken  the  Japanese  and  this  night  all 
troops  were  marching  towards  Peking.  The  attack 
was  to  be  made  on  the  south  wall  of  the  city.  There 
are  four  gateways  or  entrances  in  the  south  wall  of 
the  city.  The  Japanese  taking  two  gateways  on  the 
right,  the  Americans,  Russians  and  English  the  two 
to  the  left,  and  two  on  the  east  wall. 

M  troop  of  the  Sixth  Cavalry  had  now,  overtaken 
us  coming  from  Tientsin.  They  were  sent  out  in  ad- 
vance to  scout  and  they  soon  ran  across  a  large  body 
of  Chinese  soldiers.  They  were  attacked  and  sent 
a  messenger  back  for  re-enforcements.  The  Chinese 
were  driven  back  into  the  city  and  our  artillery  was 


162       ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

soon  battering  away  at  the  walls  of  Peking.  The 
Russians  were  pounding  away  at  the  gateway  on  our 
right,  and  the  English  'on  the  left.  We  could  hear 
firing  across  the  wall  in  the  city  where  the  legations 
were  defending  themselves,  the  Chinese  making  a 
last  desperate  effort  to  capture  them. 

The  Fourteenth  Infantry  leading  the  American 
troops  now  advanced  up  against  the  wall  and  a 
trumpeter  of  that  regiment  crawled  up  the  corner  of 
a  projection  on  the  wall  fastening  ropes  for  the  regi- 
ment to  crawl  up  on,  he  being  the  first  American 
soldier  on  the  walls  of  Peking.  They  were  soon  ad- 
vancing against  the  pagodas  at  the  gateway,  the 
Chinese  retreating  to  the  walls  which  divide  the 
Tartar  city  from  the  Chinese  city,  running  through 
the  center  of  the  city  from  north  to  south.  We  soon 
passed  through  the  Chinese  city  in  the  direction  of 
the  legations  and  arrived  at  Chinmen  gate  in  the 
evening  about  four  o'clock.  Near  this  gate  on  top 
of  the  walls  were  hundreds  of  people  of  all  descrip- 
tions, missionaries  and  ministers  cheering  and  wav- 
ing their  hats  wildly.  One  of  the  marines  slipping 
down  to  the  gate  opened  it  and  a  strong  American 
guard  was  placed  in  the  pagoda  above  the  gate, 
which  is  the  main  entrance  to  the  imperial  and  for- 
bidden city  of  Peking.  We  went  into  camp  outside 
the  wall  opposite  the  American  legation.  Here  is  a 
large  open  sewer,  which  runs  through  in  under  the 
wall,  which  had  been  closed  up  and  fortified  by  the 
legations.  This  was  now  opened  and  we  had  access 
to  the  legations. 

The  Chinese  were  still  firing  on  the  legations,  but 
no  one  heeded  this.  Everyone  who  had  been  be- 
sieged was  overjoyed  and  an  American  missionary 
woman  got  up  on  a  high  point  and  made  a  speech  to 
the  American  soldiers.  The  boys  all  cheered  her  and 
everyone  wanted  to  shake  hands.  There  were  cer- 
tainly a  great  many  light  hearts  that  rested  peace- 


THE  CAPTUKE  OF  PEKING.  163 

fully  that  night.  We  were  informed  that  the  Ger- 
man Minister  von  Ketteler  and  the  Japanese  minis- 
ter had  both  been  killed.  They  were  all  gathered  in 
around  here  in  the  American,  English  and  French 
legations,  holding  the  wall  which  divides  the  two 
cities,  as  a  background.  On  the  following  morning 
of  August  17th,  Captain  Biley  proceeding  with  his 
battery  placed  them  on  the  wall  to  the  left  of  Chin- 
men  gate.  They  began  bombarding  the  imperial 
and  forbidden  cities  from  this  wall.  An  hour  later 
this  great  American  artilleryman  was  killed,  being 
shot  through  the  mouth.  The  Americans  were  now 
fighting  hard,  making  their  way  toward  the  forbid- 
den city.  The  Japanese  were  pounding  away  at  the 
northwest  part  of  the  city  making  their  way  to  the 
forbidden  city,  from  that  direction.  In  the  evening 
about  sunset  American  guards  were  guarding  the 
entrance  to  the  forbidden  city,  they  being  the  first 
soldiers  of  the  allied  army  to  enter. 

A  large  guard  was  placed  around  here,  and  our 
wagon  trains  returned  to  the  former  camp  near  the 
legations.  There  was  still  a  great  deal  of  firing  be- 
ing done  by  the  Chinese,  but  the  main  force  had  re- 
treated to  the  mountains  in  the  southwest  part  in  the 
direction  of  Housang,  whither  the  Emperor  and  Em- 
press Dowager  had  fled.  The  next  morning  we  pro- 
ceeded down  Chinmen  road  through  the  Chinese  city 
to  the  east  gate.  Here  on  the  right,  inside  the  wall 
was  a  large  park,  called  the  Park  of  Agriculture, 
surrounded  by  a  wall  fifteen  feet  high.  There  in 
this  park  we  went  into  camp  and  were  soon  cleaning 
up  and  making  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  possible. 
Directly  across  from  our  camping  ground  was  the 
Park  of  Heaven.  In  this  the  English  went  into 
camp. 

The  city  was  allotted  into  districts  and  each  power 
represented  took  their  district,  patrolling  it  and 
placing  it  under  martial  law.  Guards  were  soon  pa- 


164       ABOUND  THE  WOBLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

trolling  the  streets  and  after  a  few  days  the  Chinese 
began  to  return  to  their  homes.  Looting  was  car- 
ried on  in  every  part  of  the  city.  The  Chinese  army 
was  now  powerless,  and  the  poor  were  robbing  the 
rich,  and  about  the  time  they  would  accumulate  a 
large  sum,  some  soldier  of  the  allied  forces  would 
come  along  and  take  it  all.  Our  commander  gave  us 
strict  orders  about  looting  and  the  guards  were  noti- 
fied to  arrest  any  soldier  caught  committing  this 
crime.  Several  Sikhs,  who  came  across  to  our  dis- 
trict were  robbing  a  Chinese  woman  of  her  jewelry. 
She  screamed,  and  a  sentry  of  the  Fourteenth  In- 
fantry appeared  in  sight,  they  began  to  run  and  he 
ordered  them  to  halt.  They  did  not  heed,  so  he  fired 
wounding  one  and  killing  another.  This  caused 
quite  a  little  ill  feeling  between  their  troops  and  ours 
for  a  while.  But  the  American  guards  were  trying 
to  protect  the  Chinese  citizens,  and  soon  our  dis- 
trict was  overcrowded.  One  could  see  thousands  of 
Chinamen  carrying  American  flags  for  protection. 
Many  of  these  were  manufactured  by  the  Crinamen 
themselves  and  were  very  odd.  In  many  of  them 
the  stripes  ran  in  every  direction  and  sometimes  the 
stars  were  made  in  the  shape  of  shamrocks. 

We  now  began  to  straighten  our  camp  up.  This 
park  which  we  were  in  was  forbidden  ground;  here 
the  Emperor  came  to  worship  and  offer  up  sacrifices 
for  the  success  of  crops.  There  were  many  altars 
through  here  and  large  temples,  which  had  images 
carved  form  wood,  such  as  dogs,  chickens  and 
animals  and  fowls  of  every  description.  We  soon 
had  these  temples  cleaned  out,  fitting  them  up  for 
hospitals,  quartermaster  storehouses,  commissaries, 
clothing  storehouses,  and  our  commanding  general's 
headquarters.  Supplies  were  brought  up  the  river 
as  far  as  Tung-Chou  and  these  old  temples  were  soon 
filled  up  with  all  kinds  of  army  supplies.  Large 
tents  came  on,  and  this  ground  was  soon  covered 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PEKING.  165 

with  rows  of  these  tents  lined  up  in  perfect  order. 
Canvas  cots  were  placed  in  them  and  we  soon  had  a 
respectable  camp.  There  were  several  fine  wells  in 
these  grounds.  A  filtering  plant  was  put  in.  a  bath 
house  made,  bake  ovens  built,  and  the  commissary 
department  were  buying  large  numbers  of  cattle 
and  sheep,  and  this  no  doubt  was  the  ideal  camp 
around  Peking. 

Large  numbers  of  camp  followers  were  now  ar- 
riving and  canteens  or  saloons  scattered  along  the 
street.  Our  commanding  officer  would  not  allow 
any  of  these  in  our  district.  Soldiers  would  gather 
in  these  places  and  there  would  be  rough  fights 
among  soldiers  of  different  nationalities. 

It  had  now  become  difficult  to  pass  through  the 
streets.  The  Chinese  were  lined  through  here  sell- 
ing all  kinds  of  articles,  such  as  silks  and  furs.  The 
populace  had  returned  and  the  streets  were  crowded. 
Chinese  women  could  be  seen  with  their  little  crip- 
pled feet,  which  are  broken  back  when  they  are  in- 
fants, thus  stopping  the  growth  of  the  foot.  This  is 
done  by  the  wealthy  class  and  these  poor  little  chil- 
dren are  tortured  and  crippled  for  life.  As  you  see 
these  little  women  hobbling  along  the  street  almost 
unable  to  walk  alone,  you  feel  very  sorry  for  them 
and  wonder  why  these  people  are  so  foolish.  The 
commander  of  the  allied  army  General  Waldersee 
had  now  arrived  and  thousands  of  German  soldiers 
could  be  seen  throughout  the  city.  The  old  legations 
were  being  cleaned  up  and  plans  for  new  ones  were 
being  drawn.  Many  Boxers  were  captured  and  the 
powers  were  trying  to  come  to  an  agreement  in  re- 
gard to  a  settlement  with  the  Chinese  government. 

The  great  Chinaman,  Li  Hung  Chang,  had  arrived 
here  and  he  represented  his  government,  trying  to 
secure  as  good  terms  as  possible.  He  visited  our 
camp  inspecting  every  part  of  it  and  everything  had 
to  be  explained  to  him  as  he  was  very  inquisitive. 


166       ABOUND  THE  WOKLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

The  Americans  seemed  to  get  along  well  with  the 
Chinamen  and  many  times  as  we  passed  through 
the  streets  they  would  get  down  on  their  hands  and 
knees,  butting  the  ground  with  their  heads.  This 
seemed  very  foolish  to  us  and  oftentimes  the  boys 
would  stop  and  approaching  them  get  them  by  the 
arm  and  raise  them  to  their  feet,  giving  them  to  un- 
derstand that  they  did  not  care  for  that  kind  of 
homage.  They  stared  at  us  then  and  wondered  why 
these  tall  fellows  did  not  care  for  this  kind  of  hom- 
age. Large  caravans  of  camels  were  now  arriving, 
bringing  in  coal,  furs  and  nuts  of  many  kinds  from 
the  mountains.  Hundreds  of  these  came  into  our 
camp  with  coal,  and  it  was  supposed  we  would  re- 
main here  for  the  winter. 

There  are  two  gateways  or  entrances  into  the  park 
on  the  north  side  of  the  wall.  The  park  is  laid  off 
in  squares,  walls  dividing  it  inside.  There  are  long 
rows  of  cedar  trees  through  the  park  and  our  detach- 
ment had  our  camp  under  two  large  cedars;  our 
cookhouse  being  under  one.  In  one  of  these  trees  we 
had  noticed  bees  swarming  in  and  out,  but  we  were 
afraid  to  cut  it  open  and  get  the  honey,  on  account 
of  our  camp  being  so  near.  Facing  south  from  the 
outside  of  the  park,  and  near  the  left  entrance  of  the 
gateway  is  a  bell  tower,  two  stories  high,  the  bell 
being  on  the  top  story.  Our  lieutenant  secured  a 
permit  to  move  our  quarters  into  this  for  the  winter, 
as  we  were  a  small  detachment.  On  the  ground  floor 
there  are  four  large  entrances  or  saleports ;  one  pass- 
ing through  from  north  to  south,  and  the  other 
from  east  to  west.  We  moved  our  belongings  to 
this  tower.  Around  the  bell  is  a  wide  corridor;  in 
the  center  hangs  the  bell  on  four  large  beams.  Meas- 
uring across  the  bottom  this  bell  is  twenty  feet  and 
about  twenty  feet  high. 

We  placed  our  bunks  in  this  corridor  around  the 
outside  of  the  bell,  thus  having  a  fine  sleeping  apart- 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PEKING.  167 

ment.  The  north,  south  and  west  entrances  we 
closed  with  bricks  placing  windows  in  the  center  of 
each.  This  gave  us  three  fine  rooms,  one  we  used  as 
a  kitchen,  one  as  a  dining  room  and  one  as  a  store- 
room for  our  rations  and  engineer  outfits.  The  east 
entrance  we  closed  with  wood  and  placed  a  large 
door  in  the  center  for  passing  in  and  out.  We  built 
a  large  furnace  in  the  center  and  had  plenty  of  room 
as  there  were  only  fifteen  members  in  our  detach- 
ment now,  several  members  being  sent  home  sick  and 
several  having  been  discharged.  After  we  had 
moved  our  camp,  one  evening  we  slipped  over  to  our 
former  camp  and  with  an  ax  and  several  of  us  were 
soon  at  work  chopping  for  the  bees.  They  were  lo- 
cated and  smoked  out.  We  secured  a  large  five  gal- 
lon bucket  full  of  honey,  many  of  the  bees  sticking 
fast  to  this.  As  we  removed  it  we  did  not  brush  them 
off,  but  placed  the  honey  in  the  bucket  at  once  for  it 
was  dark.  After  our  pail  was  filled,  we  proceeded  to 
our  quarters  in  the  bell  tower,  placed  the  bucket  on  a 
large  table  in  the  kitchen,  washed  our  hands  and 
went  to  bed.  Our  cook  was  a  large  German  by  the 
name  of  Huber,  and  when  he  arose  in  the  morning 
to  get  breakfast  he  spied  the  bucket  of  honey.  He 
had  never  had  much  experience  with  bees  and  select- 
ing a  large  piece  with  several  bees  on  it,  began  to 
sample  the  article.  About  his  first  mouthful  four  or 
five  bees  landed  on  his  lips,  stinging  him  in  the 
mouth  in  about  a  dozen  different  places.  We  could 
hear  him  growling  and  kicking  pans  around,  and 
when  the  rest  of  us  came  down  for  breakfast,  his 
lips  were  about  three  times  as  large  as  their  natural 
size.  He  blamed  it  all  on  me  and  said  I  had  no  busi- 
ness to  bring  those  blamed  bees  around  in  the  kitchen 
where  they  could  bite  the  cook.  The  boys  laughed  at 
him  and  told  him  he  was  so  sweet  they  wanted  to 
kiss  him.  Every  one  had  a  good  laugh  and  Huber, 
who  was  a  good  natured  fellow,  was  soon  over  his 


168       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

angry  spell  and  joked  with  the  rest  of  us  over  the 
matter. 

On  leaving  Tientsin  we  had  secured  twenty  China- 
men to  assist  us  in  our  work.  These  had  been  picked 
out  and  the  most  of  them  were  large  husky  fellows. 
One  of  them,  known  to  us  as  John,  was  very  well  de- 
veloped, being  over  six  feet  in  height.  He  was  very 
bright  and  soon  learned  our  ways.  We  soon  had 
them  all  nicknamed.  We  called  one  "Liz,"  one 
"John  the  Baptist,"  but  the  greatest  one  was 
"Washy  Washy."  He  was  very  stupid  and  every- 
thing we  told  him  to  do  he  would  say,  "washy- 
washy  ! ' '  thinking  that  everything  we  told  him  to  do 
he  was  to  wash.  So  after  an  attempt  to  teach  him 
we  had  him  put  in  the  kitchen  to  help  the  cook,  allow- 
ing him  to  wash  pans.  This  was  the  place  for  this 
fellow,  for  he  kept  everything  scoured  up  bright  and 
clean.  For  the  first  few  days  we  guarded  them,  but 
after  they  learned  our  ways,  they  never  needed 
watching  as  they  were  glad  to  remain  with  us. 

We  had  a  large  tent  put  up  near  our  quarters  for 
them  and  they  were  soon  comfortably  situated.  They 
were  paid  ten  cents  per  day  and  given  their  rations. 
This  was  enormous  wages  for  these  fellows,  as  the 
average  pay  for  a  common  laborer  in  China  is  two 
cents  a  day.  We  allowed  them  one  of  their  men  as 
their  cook,  and  this  was  all  he  had  to  look  after. 
They  were  nearly  all  willing  to  work  and  soon  be- 
came experts  with  picks  and  shovels.  Our  wagon 
trains  were  hauling  in  supplies  from  Tung-Chou, 
for  the  winter.  They  were  brought  up  in  junks  to 
that  place,  then  transported  from  there  to  Peking 
with  wagons.  Several  places  in  the  road  had  be- 
come impassable  and  we  were  ordered  out  to  repair 
them,  so  we  started  off  one  morning  with  our  China- 
men, taking  several  days  to  repair  chuck-holes.  We 
passed  several  large  temples  along  the  road,  most  of 
them  Confucius  temples.  In  these  many  images 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PEKING.  169 

were  built  in  honor  of  the  great  Chinese  prophet, 
they  coming  here  and  worshiping  these  idols  and 
paying  their  priests  who  generally  have  charge  of 
these  places. 

China  has  a  great  many  different  kinds  of  reli- 
gion. Followers  of  Confucius,  Buddha,  Mohammed, 
Brahma  and  Llamas,  the  latter  being  nearly  extinct. 
There  are  many  converts  to  Christianity  along  the 
seacoast  towns,  and  larger  cities,  where  missionaries 
can  be  protected.  These  people  are  very  superti- 
tious  and  it  is  very  dangerous  for  one  to  be  out  in 
Chinese  settlements  where  there  is  no  protection  of 
any  kind.  We  became  well  acquainted  with  our 
Chinamen  and  tried  very  hard  to  learn  what  their 
religion  was,  but  were  never  able  to  accomplish  this. 
We  often  watched  them  as  we  passed  by  temples 
where  idols  were  destroyed,  but  they  would  pass  by 
without  noticing  them.  You  never  saw  any  China- 
men around  these  places.  One  thing  we  did  notice 
about  the  Chinese  here,  they  appear  to  be  very  fond 
of  their  children,  the  most  of  whom  are  healthy  and 
robust,  a  great  many  having  clear  complexions. 
They  were  very  backward  and  timid.  We  spent 
several  days  on  the  roads,  and  on  our  return  secured 
quite  a  large  number  of  sweet  potatoes  and  vegeta- 
bles, purchasing  them  very  cheap.  We  were  in  our 
quarters  again  in  the  bell  tower.  And  now  it  was 
our  duty  to  make  a  map  of  this  great  city.  Peking 
is  surrounded  by  a  wall  forty  feet  in  height  and 
about  thirty  feet  thick.  This  wall  is  built  from  large 
gray  brick,  placed  on  either  side,  the  center  is  filled 
in  with  mucky  clay,  which  is  dried  and  has  become 
baked.  It  is  built  north  and  south ;  and  east  and  west. 
The  length  of  the  walls  running  east  and  west  are 
twelve  miles,  north  and  south  they  are  nine  miles. 
The  tops  are  paved  with  brick  making  them  smooth. 

On  the  outer  edge  is  an  extension  five  or  six  feet 
in  height  and  about  the  same  thickness ;  this  is  loop- 


170       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

holed.  About  every  five  hundred  yards  a  projection 
is  built  out  from  the  wall,  and  in  case  the  enemy 
should  advance  against  the  wall  a  flank  fire  could  be 
poured  out  from  these  projections.  In  the  east  and 
west  walls  are  three  gateways  each  entering  into 
the  city.  The  north  and  south  walls  contain  four 
gateways  each,  thus  making  fourteen  entrances  into 
the  city.  Beginning  at  central  gateway  on  the  east 
wall  passing  south,  then  west  and  then  back  again  to 
the  starting  point,  the  distance  is  forty-two  miles. 
Outside  surrounding  the  wall  is  a  moat  and  upon  en- 
tering the  gates  one  must  cross  a  bridge  which  is 
built  arch-shaped  and  contructed  from  granite. 
Each  gateway  is  built  with  double  gates,  at  the  top 
of  which  is  constructed  a  building  called  a  pagoda. 
These  are  used  for  guards,  or  soldiers'  barracks. 
Peking  is  divided  and  walled  into  four  different 
parts,  viz: — the  Forbidden  city,  the  Imperial  city, 
the  Tartar  city  and  the  Chinese  city.  Starting  from 
the  east  wall  going  westward  three  miles  is  the  Chi- 
nese city.  At  the  central  or  Chinmen  gate  is  the  Im- 
perial city,  which  extends  north  and  south  three 
miles  each  way.  Here  are  government  buildings 
and  temples  of  many  varieties,  where  government 
offices  are  maintained  and  conducted.  Passing 
through  three  gates  and  saleports  to  the  west  is 
the  wall  of  the  Forbidden  city.  This  city  is  about 
three  miles  Square  and  is  forbidden  ground.  No 
one  enters  here,  except  members  of  the  royal  family, 
concubines  of  the  emperor  and  servants,  the  males 
all  being  eunuchs.  In  the  direction  of  the  west 
wall  are  parks  and  temples.  Here  are  monuments 
built  to  the  different  religions.  In  these  grounds 
is  a  large  hill  the  base  of  which  is  several  miles 
in  circumference.  This  is  an  artificial  structure, 
built  from  coal,  dirt  being  placed  on  the  outside, 
and  covered  with  various  kinds  of  trees.  The 
former  Emperor  had  this  work  done  and  the  coal 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PEKING.  171 

placed  in.  During  his  reign  his  country  had  been  at 
war.  The  city  had  been  besieged  during  the  winter 
and  the  inhabitants  suffered  severely  from  the  cold. 
After  a  settlement  and  terms  had  been  made,  this 
precaution  had  been  taken  in  case  of  another  war. 
North,  south  and  west  of  the  Imperial  and  Forbidden 
cities  is  the  Tartar  city.  After  the  great  wall  of 
China  had  been  built,  the  Manchurians  had  crossed 
this  wall  and  captured  Peking,  killing  the  Chinese 
Emperor  and  placing  the  Manchurian  Emperor  on 
the  throne  of  China.  The  city  was  then  divided  and 
natives  from  Manchuria  took  up  their  residence  in 
this  portion  of  the  city,  so  as  to  be  near  their  Em- 
peror, in  case  of  a  rebellion. 

The  Manchu  dynasty  is  still  the  reigning  power  of 
China,  the  present  Emperor,  Quangsu,  being  a  de- 
scendant of  that  race.  This  first  Emperor,  to  make 
the  Chinese  loyal  subjects,  had  offered  each  one  a 
dollar  for  raising  a  cue;  that  is,  allowing  a  portion 
of  hair  to  grow  over  the  crown  of  the  head.  This 
custom  is  still  practiced,  and  you  might  as  well  offer 
to  cut  off  a  Chinaman's  head  as  to  cut  off  his  cue. 

Peking  had  no  sewerage  system  whatever,  except 
a  few  old  ditches.  Waste  of  every  description  is 
gathered  up  by  the  Chinese  and  used  as  fertilizer  on 
their  gardens.  An  effort  had  been  made  to  put  it  in 
a  sanitary  condition,  but  this  was  nearly  impossible, 
as  the  population  is  very  dense  and  people  come  and 
go  from  the  city  every  day  by  thousands.  Our 
quarters  were  near  the  Chinmen  road,  on  the  central 
street,  which  passed  out  the  east  gate  of  the  Chinese 
city.  We  had  made  a  ladder  so  as  to  get  up  on  the 
wall,  and  here  we  would  sit  for  hours,  watching  the 
people  pass  by. 

Along  this  street  dozens  of  funerals  passed  every 
day,  as  there  was  a  large  burying  ground  east  of  the 
city  in  the  direction  of  the  Imperial  hunting  park. 
We  noticed  that  in  some  of  these  funeral  processions 


172       ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

the  coffins  were  placed  on  two  long  poles  and  accom- 
panied only  by  the  bearers,  or  men  who  carry  the 
coffins.  Our  Chinamen  told  us  this  was  a  poor  man 
and  his  family  was  not  able  to  have  an  elaborate 
funeral.  In  a  short  time  another  procession  passed 
along,  headed  by  a  fine  band,  making  a  hideous  noise 
by  banging  instruments  of  every  kind  together ;  then 
in  line  came  the  bearers  with  the  coffin  and  behind 
them  a  long  line  of  mourners,  scattering  fine  pieces 
of  paper,  and  last  the  family.  The  mourners  were 
crying  and  making  quite  a  noise.  This  was  a  rich 
Chinaman  and  these  mourners  are  hired  for  this 
purpose.  A  certain  amount  of  things  are  placed  be- 
side the  body  of  the  dead  Chinaman,  and  also  articles 
for  his  convenience  in  the  hereafter.  The  wealthier 
the  man,  the  larger  the  funeral. 

Jinrikishas  can  be  seen  here,  sedan  chairs  and 
Chinese  ponies,  which  are  very  short  legged  and 
have  heavy  bodies.  Vehicles  are  all  two-wheeled 
carts;  many  of  them  are  covered  and  drawn  by 
mules  or  ponies.  There  are  hundreds  of  donkeys  in 
and  about  the  city.  All  labor,  such  as  garden  and 
small,  field  work  is  done  by  men,  as  it  is  cheaper  to 
hire  men  than  to  keep  animals. 

Pears  and  persimmons  are  the  principal  fruits 
which  come  into  the  city.  Vegetables  can  be  secured 
very  cheap,  and  poultry  and  eggs  can  be  had  at  a 
reasonable  price.  A  large  chicken  can  be  had  for  ten 
cents,  and  seventeen  dozens  of  eggs  for  fifty  cents. 
As  you  pass  through  the  villages  you  never  see  any 
poultry,  and  wonder  how  the  Chinese  manage  to 
keep  chickens  secluded. 

The  wealthy  people  dress  in  silks  and  fine  furs ;  the 
poorer  class  in  the  cheapest  of  material,  such  as  light 
cotton  goods,  which  is  padded  for  the  winter  and 
resembles  a  large  quilt.  Hats  or  caps  are  scarcely 
worn.  A  great  many  Mohammedans  wear  the  fez. 
The  fuel  is  principally  coal,  as  wood  is  very  scarce 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PEKING.  173 

in  this  country.  Coal  is  pulverized  into  dust,  damp- 
ened and  mixed  with  clay,  rolled  into  small  balls  and 
burned  in  small  clay  stoves,  the  top  being  open  and 
the  draft  passing  in  from  the  bottom,  keeping  these 
round  balls  red  hot.  These  stoves  are  placed  in  the 
rooms,  in  which,  if  not  properly  ventilated,  the 
sleeper  is  often  overcome  by  the  gas  fumes.  Houses 
are  mostly  constructed  of  brick  made  from  clay  and 
sun  dried.  The  richer  homes,  government  buildings 
and  temples,  are  all  calcimined,  the  roofs  being  made 
from  glazed  tile  of  many  fancy  colors  and  the  cor- 
ners ornamented  with  clay  animals  and  birds.  The 
inner  walls  are  frescoed  in  fancy  colors,  which  never 
seem  to  fade.  The  poorer  homes  are  very  scantily 
furnished,  the  beds  being  built  from  brick  and  dirt. 
The  windows,  which  are  few,  are  covered  with  paper. 
In  the  wealthier  sections  they  are  furnished  with 
beds,  chairs,  tables  and  fancy  dishes  of  every  de- 
scription. 

Chopsticks  are  universally  used  by  all  classes; 
many  of  them  are  silver  mounted.  Gambling  is  car- 
ried on  everywhere,  games  of  all  kinds  being  used 
for  this  purpose.  Opium  is  used  in  preference  to 
drink.  Sanshu  is  the  Chinaman's  most  popular 
drink.  This  contains  large  quantities  of  alcohol  and 
has  a  very  detestable  flavor.  Prisons  are  unknown, 
and  a  man  committing  a  crime  is  beheaded,  except  in 
petty  offenses,  and  then  he  is  tied  to  a  post  and  sen- 
tenced to  stand  in  the  sun  or  cold  with  his  hands 
lashed  and  the  principal  part  of  his  clothing  re- 
moved. Men  of  wealth  and  position  have  very  little 
difficulty  in  removing  a  man  or  having  him  executed 
if  they  wish  him  out  of  the  way.  Executions  are 
made  public  and  thousands  of  people  turn  out  to 
witness  this  spectacle.  The  work  is  done  with  a 
large,  heavy  sword  used  by  the  executioner,  and  as- 
sisted by  two  helpers.  The  prisoners'  hands  are 
placed  behind  him  and  tied;  he  then  kneels  on  the 


174       AROUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

ground  and  a  long  cord  is  placed  in  his  mouth  and 
the  cue  drawn  forward.  The  helper  then  draws  the 
cue  and  cord  to  the  ground  and  the  blade  passes  over 
the  back  of  the  neck  and  the  execution  is  over. 

There  was  once  a  rebellion  in  the  central  province. 
A  body  of  troops  was  sent  out  to  put  down  the  rebel- 
lion. After  executing  30,000  Chinamen  in  this  way 
they  returned  to  Peking,  the  general  being  considered 
a  hero,  having  ended  the  rebellion  so  easily. 

We  were  now  issued  fur  caps,  gloves,  overcoats, 
shoes  and  blue  uniforms.  We  had  enough  rations 
to  last  us  one  year.  The  English  were  rebuilding  the 
Tientsin  and  Peking  railway,  which  had  formerly 
come  within  eight  miles  of  the  city,  this  being  as  near 
as  the  Chinese  government  would  allow  them  to  ap- 
proach the  wall  with  their  locomotives.  A  street  car 
line  had  been  built  from  the  terminus  of  the  railway 
to  the  east  gate.  Every  part  of  the  powerhouse  and 
street  car  line  had  disappeared.  The  English  were 
now  blasting  a  hole  through  the  wall  and  expected  to 
run  their  trains  into  the  city.  The  road  was  to  be 
in  operation  the  first  of  the  year.  Our  mail  was  be- 
ing sent  every  day  across  the  country  from  Yang- 
sung,  which  was  as  far  as  the  railway  had  been  re- 
built towards  Peking. 

We  were  now  ordered  to  stake  out  a  road  as  direct 
as  possible  from  Peking  to  Howsoun,  this  making 
their  mail  route  about  twenty  miles  nearer.  The 
engineer  detachment  and  about  ten  members  of  the 
the  Sixth  Cavalry  mounted,  and  forty  Chinamen 
were  to  help  us.  We  started  out  the  east  gate,  fol- 
lowing a  sunken  highway,  which  had  been  pounded 
down  into  the  surface  from  continuous  traffic  to  the 
depth  of  about  thirty  or  thirty-five  feet.  This  was 
in  November  and  we  were  having  a  terrible  dust 
storm,  which  frequent  this  country  in  the  winter 
season.  Traveling  east  about  eight  miles,  we  arrived 
at  the  Imperial  hunting  park.  This  is  a  game  re- 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PEKING.  175 

serve,  where  the  Emperor  goes  on  hunting  trips.  It 
is  enclosed  by  a  high  wall  and  contains  over  ten 
square  miles  of  land.  We  passed  in  through  a  gate, 
following  our  road  to  the  northeast,  putting  up 
markers  printed  in  black  letters,  "Peking  and  How- 
soun, ' '  to  mark  the  road.  After  crossing  about  eight 
miles  of  this  park,  we  passed  through  a  gate,  arriv- 
ing in  a  large  city  on  the  edge  of  the  park.  Here  the 
Mandarin  of  the  city  with  our  officers,  furnished  us 
quarters  to  sleep  in  and  ordered  the  natives  to  bring 
us  wood  and  water  and  any  articles  we  might  desire. 
He  was  very  friendly  and  the  natives  gathered 
around  us  in  large  bunches,  examining  the  brass  but- 
tons on  our  coats,  feeling  our  clothing  and  inquiring 
of  our  Chinamen  all  about  us.  We  all  had  light  buck- 
skin gauntlets.  These  they  greatly  admired,  and  we 
were  careful  not  to  lay  them  down.  Sleeping  here 
this  night,  we  were  compelled  to  have  fires,  as  it  was 
very  cold.  We  now  started  out  west,  crossing  the 
country,  marking  out  the  road,  and  making  a  map  of 
the  country.  This  day  we  covered  about  thirty-five 
miles,  passing  through  hundreds  of  villages  where 
the  Chinamen  flocked  out,  having  water  all  ready 
for  our  animals,  offering  us  eggs  and  chickens,  but 
no  one  took  anything  without  paying  for  it.  This 
night  we  put  up  just  outside  the  wall  of  a  large  city, 
the  Mandarin  coming  out  and  getting  quarters  for  us 
and  supplying  us  with  wood.  Hundreds  of  China- 
men came  out  of  the  city  to  look  at  us. 

The  next  day  we  arrived  in  Howsoun,  here  remain- 
ing two  days,  then  returning  to  Peking.  The  mail 
boys  would  now  be  able  to  follow  the  route  which  we 
had  staked  out. 


A    GROUP    OF    ARMY    SERGEANTS. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  WINTER  IN   CHINA BACK   TO  THE  PHILIPPINES. 


T  was  near  Christmas,  and  many  of  the 
missionaries  who  had  returned  to  their 
home  countries  were  now  coming  back, 
or  new  ones  coming  in  their  places. 
Nearly  all  foreign  envoys  who  had  gone 
to  their  home  countries  were  returning  for  duty 
again  in  China.  We  had  formed  an  acquaintance 
with  a  Norwegian  missionary,  who  could  speak 
broken  English.  He  was  an  independent  missionary, 
that  is,  he  did  not  represent  any  missionary  society, 
but  carried  on  his  work  by  popular  subscription  from 
friends  in  his  own  country.  His  building  and  school 
had  been  destroyed  during  this  trouble,  and  when  we 
first  formed  his  acquaintance,  a  short  time  after  the 
legations  were  relieved,  he  appeared  in  our  camp 
with  one  shoe  on  and  one  boot,  bareheaded,  hair  long 
and  shaggy,  and  attired  in  a  linen  duster.  While 
we  were  talking  to  him,  he  told  us  his  trouble.  He 
was  trying  to  regain  what  he  had  lost  by  buying  up 
goods,  and  then  selling  it. 

We  obtained  an  old  pair  of  shoes  and  a  hat  and 
gave  him  these,  and  his  dinner.  He  still  had  a  mule 
and  a  cart  and  one  of  his  converts,  who  was  mounted 
on  a  Chinese  pony.  He  remained  with  us  all  after- 
noon and  gave  us  an  account  of  the  siege  at  Peking. 
He  had  been  captured,  but  was  released,  as  he  could 
speak  the  Chinese  language  fluently.  Several  years 
before  this  he  had  made  a  trip  from  Peking  to  St. 
Petersburg,  crossing  the  mountains  and  the  great 
Mongolian  desert.  After  he  had  formed  our  ac- 
quaintance, he  visited  us  about  once  every  week,  re- 
maining at  our  quarters  all  day.  He  often  furnished 


178       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

us  with  eggs  and  articles  of  this  kind,  buying  up  old 
jewelry  and  selling  it  to  the  Chinese. 

He  was  undecided  whether  to  rebuild  his  mission 
or  not,  as  he  had  no  means  to  accomplish  this  with. 
His  brother  was  in  the  interior  of  China  somewhere, 
he  being  a  missionary  also.  He  did  not  know  if  he 
was  alive  or  not,  and  this  seemed  to  trouble  him 
wonderfully.  He  told  us  other  missionaries  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  him,  as  they  called  him  '  *  the 
crazy  Norwegian. ' '  His  country  was  not  represented 
here  by  an  envoy,  and  he  was  without  friends.  We 
helped  him  along  as  much  as  was  possible,  but  told 
him  he  had  better  stay  at  his  missionary  work  and 
not  get  too  deep  in  business;  but  as  time  passed  by 
he  accumulated  quite  a  sum  of  money. 

Rumors  were  now  spread  that  the  Chinese  general 
was  marching  towards  Peking  with  a  large  army  of 
Chinamen,  but  no  one  was  concerned,  as  there  were 
troops  enough  here  to  defend  the  cicy  against  any 
number  he  could  march  against  us.  The  Boxers 
had  begun  to  get  troublesome,  and  on  the  26th  day  of 
December  we  were  on  our  way  to  a  walled  city,  about 
fifty  miles  away.  It  was  very  cold  now,  and  we  car- 
ried our  Sibley  tents  and  stoves  with  us,  making 
forty  miles  the  first  day.  The  next  morning  we 
crossed  the  river  on  the  ice  and  about  noon  reached 
a  walled  city,  where  the  Boxers  had  been  disturbing 
the  peace.  Here  Germans,  English  and  Japanese 
were  coming  in  from  every  direction,  but  the  Boxers 
had  disappeared. 

The  next  day  we  started  on  our  return  to  Peking, 
by  the  way  of  Tingchow.  There  had  been  quite  a 
thaw  and  we  had  to  build  pontoon  bridges  to  get 
our  wagon  trains  and  artillery  across.  We  returned 
to  Peking  after  being  absent  six  days.  The  Chinese 
were  not  frightened  now  and  remained  in  their  vil- 
lages and  cities  as  we  passed  by,  and  they  were  still 
willing  to  accommodate  us  in  all  our  wants. 


BACK  TO  THE  PHILIPPINES.  179 

New  Year's  night  we  were  all  awakened  by  shouts 
and  cries,  across  in  the  English  camp.  Getting  up 
and  looking  out  the  windows  we  could  see  large 
flames  and  soon  learned  that  a  large  number  of  the 
Sikhs  quarters  had  been  burned  down,  destroying 
large  quantities  of  ammunition  and  rations. 

The  railroad  had  now  been  completed,  and  on  the 
first  day  of  the  year  trains  were  running  from  Taku 
and  Tientsin  to  Peking.  We  now  had  no  further  use 
for  our  Chinamen,  and  secured  passes  for  them  to 
return  to  their  homes  in  Tientsin,  where  they  had 
families.  Two  of  them  we  kept,  Washy  Washy  and 
Pete,  they  not  having  families,  desiring  to  remain 
with  us.  On  the  evening  before  their  departure, 
they  came  into  our  quarters,  all  in  a  row,  each  carry- 
ing a  bundle.  They  proceeded  to  our  table,  undoing 
their  packages,  and  filling  the  table  with  nuts,  fruits 
and  many  Chinese  dainties.  Then  their  spokesman, 
speaking  to  Chang,  our  draftsman,  informed  him  to 
tell  us  they  thanked  us  very  warmly  for  our  kind 
treatment  and  told  us  they  had  been  far  better 
treated  by  us  than  by  their  own  people.  In  the  morn- 
ing, as  they  were  ready  to  leave  our  detachment  all 
passed  outside,  shaking  hands  with  them  and  bidding 
them  good-bye. 

We  had  many  Chinese  acquaintances  in  the  city. 
A  Mrs.  Wung,  who  lived  in  our  district,  had  invited 
several  members  of  our  detachment  to  the  wedding 
of  her  niece.  She  could  speak  the  English  language, 
as  she  had  been  employed  as  a  servant  in  the  Ameri- 
can legation.  Her  nephew  was  employed  as  a  ser- 
vant by  our  lieutenant,  thus  spending  much  of  his 
time  around  our  quarters. 

Several  of  us  decided  to  attend  the  wedding,  and 
it  proved  to  be  an  interesting  affair.  The  bride  and 
groom  were  both  nice  looking  Chinese,  she  being 
about  fifteen  and  he  seventeen  years  of  age.  They 
went  through  many  forms  of  Chinese  custom.  Pieces 


180       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

of  fine  paper  were  scattered  over  them,  and  they 
were  then  pronounced  husband  and  wife.  After 
this  came  the  feast.  They  had  Chinese  dishes,  chop 
suey,  meats  of  many  kinds,  some  of  it  resembling 
dog  meat.  We  did  not  sample  the  meat,  but  ate  of 
the  fowl,  Chinese  cakes  and  puddings.  Mrs.  Wung 
was  acquainted  with  the  American  customs  and  had 
knives,  forks  and  spoons  provided  for  her  American 
guests,  the  other  members  using  chopsticks.  Fine 
tea  was  served,  as  the  Chinese  do  not  use  coffee,  tea 
being  used  in  every  home,  rich  and  poor  alike.  It  is 
never  sweetened  and  is  drunk  pure.  The  wedding 
was  a  success,  and  our  hostess  chatted  away,  trying 
to  make  things  as  pleasant  as  she  could.  We  thanked 
them  for  their  kindness,  bade  them  all  good-night 
and  returned  to  our  camp. 

Our  lieutenant  received  orders  to  survey  a  new 
American  legation,  and  soon  we  were  busy  with  our 
instruments  and  chains,  driving  stakes  and  running 
lines  north  and  south,  east  and  west.  All  legations 
were  to  be  built  close  together,  a  large  wall  built 
around  them,  and  barracks  constructed  for  guards. 
Soon  hundreds  of  Chinese  were  busy  at  work  on 
these,  tearing  down  old  buildings  and  leveling  off  the 
ground.  The  foreign  powers  and  China  had  now 
come  to  an  agreement,  the  Chinese  paying  an  in- 
demnity for  the  cost  of  the  war.  Five  members  of 
the  Chinese  council  who  were  so  bitter  against  the 
foreigners  and  who  were  at  the  head  of  the  Boxer 
movement,  were  to  be  publicly  executed.  The  Chinese 
general  who  had  taken  a  great  part  in  the  attack  on 
the  legation,  was  also  to  be  executed.  The  court 
could  now  return  to  Peking,  as  the  integrity  of  China 
would  be  upheld. 

The  execution  part  of  the  agreement  was  now  be- 
ing carried  out,  and  on  the  one  of  the  main  streets  of 
the  Chinese  city,  thousands  and  thousands  of  people 
had  gathered.  These  five  members,  under  a  guard  of 


BACK  TO  THE  PHILIPPINES.  181 

Japanese  soldiers,  were  now  awaiting  execution  and 
were  to  receive  the  same  punishment  which,  prob- 
ably, they  had  been  instrumental  in  handing  out  to 
their  subjects.  Here  they  stood,  amid  the  cheering 
of  thousands  of  their  countrymen.  Some  of  them 
were  not  able  to  stand  and  had  to  be  carried  up  to 
the  place  of  execution.  They  were  men  of  wealth, 
and  this  was  something  unusual  to  these  poor,  ignor- 
ant Chinamen,  for  men  of  power  like  these  were  to 
receive  the  same  punishment  as  had  been  inflicted 
upon  them  for  committing  some  petty  offense.  Large 
rugs  were  placed  on  the  ground  by  their  families, 
and  one  after  another  they  were  executed,  placed  in 
coffins  and  borne  away,  the  crowds  cheering  as  the 
last  of  these  passed  out  of  sight.  The  Chinese  gen- 
eral could  not  be  found,  as  he  was  far  out  in  the 
interior  with  a  large  army,  and  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment could  not  secure  him. 

Many  stories  were  told  here  of  the  Chinese  Em- 
peror ;  how  he  was  under  the  power  of  the  Empress 
Dowager.  He  had  been  brought  up  under  her  care 
and  was  still  influenced  by  her.  Missionaries  told 
stories  of  how  servants  came  from  the  Emperor's 
palace,  asking  them  for  books.  He  desired  very 
much  to  learn  the  English  language  and  was  fond  of 
modern  literature.  This  he  had  to  read  secretly, 
many  of  them  believing  that  if  he  could  have  his  way, 
great  reforms  would  prevail  in  China,  as  the  Em- 
peror appeared  friendly  to  the  foreigners.  The  Em- 
press Dowager  had  a  bitter  feeling  against  them, 
she  beingKif  raid  of  modern  civilization,  knowing  that 
if  Christian  ideas  and  principles  were  taught,  the 
power  of  aristocracy  and  nobility  would  be  broken. 
It  was  plain  for  any  one  to  see  that  the  power  of  the 
dynasty  is  held  through  superstition  and  fear.  Their 
Emperor  is  worshiped.  If  he  passes  through  the 
street,  a  subject  dare  not  look  upon  him,  but  must 
bow  his  head  on  the  ground,  closing  his  eyes 


182       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

until  his  ruler  has  passed  by  in  his  fine  sedan 
chair. 

Our  troops  had  to  remain  here  until  the  wall  had 
been  built  around  the  legation,  so  that  the  guards 
remaining  here  would  be  able  to  protect  themselves 
if  necessary.  After  this  was  done  the  troops  would 
again  return  to  the  Philippines  and  General  Chaffee 
would  then  become  the  commanding  general  of  the 
Philippines.  Every  kind  of  amusement  had  been  in- 
vented in  camp  to  pass  away  the  time.  A  baseball 
league  had  been  organized  and  different  branches 
of  the  service  had  been  represented  in  this  league. 
The  officers,  infantry,  hospital  corps,  cavalry  and 
artillery  each  had  a  team.  The  weather  now  was 
fine  and  a  ball  ground  was  prepared  and  the  games 
became  exciting,  and  many  an  afternoon  was  passed 
pleasantly  away  in  this  manner.  The  Chinese  and 
foreign  soldiers  came  to  witness  the  games,  many 
wondering  what  these  excited  soldiers  were  cheering 
for  when  a  close  and  exciting  score  was  made.  The 
infantry  had  the  best  team,  and  after  dozens  of 
games  had  been  played,  the  best  players  from  the 
other  teams  were  selected  and  they  endeavored  to 
defeat  the  infantry,  but  this  seemed  impossible,  as 
the  infantry  again  came  out  victorious. 

Many  hours  were  passed  away  on  the  wall,  op- 
posite our  quarters.  As  the  days  became  warmer, 
dozens  of  Chinese  children  gathered  outside  and  we 
took  hardtack,  cans,  and  other  articles  which  we  had 
no  use  for,  and  pitched  them  out  in  front  of  the  wall, 
watching  them  scramble  for  these.  They  had 
learned  to  know  us,  and  of  course  watched  us  closely, 
and  whenever  we  gathered  on  top  of  the  wall  they 
put  in  their  appearance.  Oftentimes  large  crowds 
of  Chinese  stopped  and  watched  them  scramble  for 
these  articles. 

The  Chinese  are  fond  of  dogs,  and  there  were  hun- 
dreds of  them  through  the  cities  and  towns.  A  great 


BACK  TO  THE  PHILIPPINES.  183 

many  of  them  were  large,  having  long  hair,  and  mak- 
ing an  ugly  appearance.  Many  were  covered  with 
sores  and  were  so  thin  they  could  scarcely  walk. 
Cats  are  seldom  seen,  and  few  rats  and  mice.  Game 
comes  into  the  city,  such  as  rabbits,  Mongolian 
pheasants,  wild  ducks  and  geese.  We  made  sketches 
of  the  country  within  ten  miles  of  Peking,  often- 
times going  out  without  any  gun.  The  Chinamen  ap- 
peared friendly,  and  when  we  stopped  in  villages 
they  offered  us  tea  to  drink  and  pieces  of  corn-bread. 
They  seemed  to  know  the  Americans  and  in  passing, 
many  of  them  held  up  their  thumbs,  which  meant  we 
were  all  right.  The  troops  had  target  practice,  us- 
ing the  walls  for  a  background,  our  artillery  taking 
old  pieces  of  captured  Chinese  guns  out  into  the 
hunting  park.  Oftentimes  the  English  artillery  ac- 
companied them.  They  had  contests  and  the  Eng- 
lish had  to  do  good  shooting  to  keep  in  place  with 
our  boys,  as  the  battery  here  was  one  of  the  best  in 
the  American  army. 

The  weather  had  become  warm  now  and  we  could 
see  soldiers  drilling,  many  of  them  drilling  in  front 
of  our  park  or  camp,  as  there  was  a  long,  level  tract 
between  the  American  and  English  camps.  Here 
Germans,  English  and  Americans  spent  hours  each 
day  drilling,  the  cavalry  often  causing  quite  a  sensa- 
tion as  they  went  galloping  over  the  smooth,  even 
surface.  There  had  been  little  snow  during  the 
winter  season,  but  the  weather  had  been  cold. 
Oftentimes  there  would  be  winds  which  would  blow 
the  dust  into  clouds,  these  storms  sometimes  lasting 
for  a  week.  As  the  warm  weather  approached,  there 
were  hundreds  of  cases  of  smallpox  among  the 
Chinese.  It  is  a  great  wonder  the  soldiers  did  not 
take  this  disease,  as  we  often  passed  Chinamen  with 
the  scabs  falling  off  their  faces.  We  were  lucky  and 
only  had  one  case  in  our  camp.  You  could  see  large 
numbers  of  foreign  officers  going  through  our  camp 


184       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

and  hospitals,  inspecting  our  system.  The  Japanese 
were  very  much  interested  and  spent  several  days 
inspecting  equipments,  artillery,  cavalry  and  quar- 
termasters' transportation.  The  weather  was  fine 
and  our  troops  had  parade  every  evening.  Hun- 
dreds of  spectators  from  the  legations  turned  out  to 
witness  these  parades. 

Large  metallic  coffins  had  arrived,  and  the  bodies 
of  dead  soldiers  were  taken  up  and  placed  in  these, 
sealed  and  sent  back  to  the  United  States. 

The  Chinese  have  one  of  the  oldest  observatories 
in  the  world,  which  is  built  on  one  of  the  walls  there 
at  Peking.  The  Germans  were  taking  the  instru- 
ments from  this,  which  were  of  very  ancient  pattern, 
packing  them  up  and  shipping  them  to  their  home 
government.  The  Chinese  protested,  but  they  were 
not  heeded.  They  appealed  to  the  American  com- 
mander and  he  notified  our  home  government  and 
directed  a  note  to  the  commander  of  the  allied  army. 
This  caused  quite  a  little  trouble.  Our  government 
protested  and  these  articles  were  all  returned.  A 
large  delegation  of  Chinese  came  to  our  camp  and 
presented  our  commander  with  a  large  silk  umbrella. 
This  is  one  of  the  highest  honors  which  they  can  be- 
stow upon  anyone.  Their  interpreter  made  a  speech, 
thanking  our  government  and  the  commander  for  the 
kindness  they  had  shown  them  in  this  trouble. 

Our  Norwegian  missionary  friend  still  visited  us. 
He  would  now  appear  with  his  bible  and  would  often- 
times preach  a  little.  A  few  weeks  later  some  one 
robbed  him  of  the  money  he  had  accumulated,  and 
he  was  afterwards  found  by  a  company  of  German 
soldiers,  wandering  over  the  country,  insane.  He 
was  placed  in  a  German  hospital,  and  later  trans- 
ported to  his  home  in  Norway.  The  strain  had  been 
too  much  for  him,  and  he  broke  down  completely. 
We  were  now  almost  ready  to  leave  China,  as  the 
new  legation  had  been  built,  a  large  wall  constructed 


BACK  TO  THE  PHILIPPINES.  185 

around  it,  with  loop-holes  for  artillery  guns.  Com- 
pany B  of  the  Ninth  Infantry,  300  strong,  was  to  re- 
main as  legation  guard.  Our  camps  were  being  torn 
up  and  the  buildings  placed  in  the  same  condition  as 
we  had  found  them.  Our  troops  marched  to  the 
train,  led  by  an  English  band.  At  the  depot  were 
thousands  of  soldiers,  foreign  ministers  and  generals 
of  the  different  armies  who  had  participated  in  the 
war,  waiting  to  bid  us  farewell.  Our  train  slowly 
pulled  away,  amid  great  cheering  and  waving  of 
hats.  The  last  band  to  play  was  the  Japanese,  and 
their  general  stood  by  with  hat  removed,  bowing  and 
smiling  an  adieu,  amid  the  strains  of  Auld  Lang 
Syne.  As  we  passed  through  the  Chinese  section 
hundreds  of  Chinamen  collected  near  the  gate  and 
watched  us  pass,  probably  very  much  puzzled  at  the 
trainload  of  cheering  men  that  passed  through  the 
great  wall  of  the  city. 

This  railroad  was  garrisoned  by  English  soldiers, 
and  at  every  station  were  crowds  of  them.  Our 
train  often  stopped  giving  the  officers  of  each  army 
an  opportunity  to  say  farewell.  The  English  and 
Americans  were  on  very  friendly  terms  and  had 
been  very  friendly  during  the  entire  campaign. 

As  our  train  rolled  along  the  plain  we  could  see 
thousands  of  natives  at  work  in  their  gardens.  The 
water  for  irrigating  purposes  was  drawn  from  wells 
by  hand,  as  there  was  not  sufficient  rainfall  in  this 
region  for  the  growing  crops.  All  crops,  except  corn 
and  broom  corn,  were  irrigated.  Weeds  were  used 
for  fuel,  and  almost  every  article  was  utilized,  noth- 
ing being  allowed  to  waste.  We  seldom  passed  a 
habitation  in  the  country,  as  nearly  all  congregate 
in  villages.  We  often  wondered  at  the  large  popu- 
lation of  some  of  the  villages  through  which  we 
passed,  oftentimes  passing  through  throngs  in  vil- 
lages which  covered  no  more  ground  than  that  oc- 
cupied by  ordinary  farm  buildings  in  our  country. 


186       ABOUND  THE  WOELD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

As  we  passed,  they  popped  out  like  ants  from  an  ant 
hill  when  disturbed  by  some  intruder. 

Previously  we  had  visited  the  Great  Wall,  which 
is  one  of  the  Seven  Wonders  of  the  world.  This  is 
about  40  miles  from  the  city.  This  great  wall,  be- 
ginning at  the  Gulf  of  Pechili  at  Shanghai  Gaum,  ex- 
tends over  the  mountains  for  a  distance  of  1,500 
miles.  It  is  built  of  large,  gray  brick,  is  about  28  feet 
high  and  14  feet  thick.  In  some  places  the  wall  is 
forty-five  and  fifty  miles  from  water.  This  must 
have  taken  many  hundreds  of  years  of  labor,  but  one 
does  not  wonder  so  much  when  you  consider  the 
large  population.  Some  of  the  boys  secured  pieces 
of  brick  from  the  wall  for  souvenirs. 

After  several  hours  of  travel  our  train  passed 
through  Yangsung.  Here,  almost  a  year  before,  a 
great  battle  had  been  fought,  but  now  everything 
was  peaceable  and  quiet.  The  appearance  of  the 
place  had  changed,  too.  There  was  a  large  French 
garrison  here,  and  they  turned  out  to  see  us  off.  At 
Tientsin  a  new  depot  had  been  built  upon  the  site 
of  the  old,  which  the  Chinese  artillery  had  chopped 
to  pieces.  The  great  wall  that  had  encircled  the 
city  had  now  entirely  disappeared  and  the  city  had 
taken  on  a  more  respectable  appearance.  The  city 
was  full  of  life,  and  men  of  all  nations  could  be  seen 
with  uniforms  of  various  colors  and  styles.  Here, 
a  few  weeks  before  our  arrival,  the  Eussians  and 
English  had  almost  clashed  over  a  valuable  piece 
of  railway  property.  They  had  both  made  intrench- 
ments  there,  and  .for  a  time  it  looked  as  though  there 
would  be  battle  between  the  two,  but  an  arbitrary 
settlement  was  made  and  war  was  averted.  After 
a  short  stay  here  our  train  started  for  Taku,  where 
we  boarded  a  boat  which  carried  us  out  of  the  river 
into  the  gulf.  On  the  way  we  passed  Chinese  junks 
by  hundreds,  and  many  muddy  and  dirty  looking 
villages,  with  swarms  of  inhabitants.  The  Japanese, 


BACK  TO  THE  PHILIPPINES.  187 

Russian,  English,  German  and  French  flags  still 
floated  over  the  Taku  forts  as  we  passed. 

Our  tug  ran  alongside  the  United  States  transport 
Sumner,  which  we  soon  boarded,  and  found  comfort- 
able sleeping  quarters  for  the  night.  We  lay  here 
two  days,  waiting  for  the  remainder  of  the  troops. 
After  our  commander  arrived,  anchor  was  weighed 
and  our  boat  started  for  Manila,  after  first  coaling  at 
Nagasaki.  Five  days  later  we  anchored  in  the  bay. 

Our  detachment  soon  went  ashore  and  later  went 
marching  past  Quartell,  Malate,  to  our  headquarters, 
which  were  situated  in  a  large  convent  in  Malate. 
There  we  received  a  warm  welcome  from  our  friends 
and  spent  days  here  relating  our  adventures  and 
listening  to  theirs.  We  had  been  away  from  the 
company  a  year,  and  had  much  to  talk  about.  They 
told  us  that  Aguinaldo  had  been  captured  and  was 
held  a  prisoner  in  Manila.  The  Island  had  a  civil 
governor,  civil  courts  had  been  established  and 
Manila  was  patrolled  by  police  instead  of  soldiers, 
it  being  under  civil  government.  Schools  were  es- 
tablished all  over  the  city  and  the  Islands,  and  hun- 
dreds of  school  teachers  were  arriving  from  the 
United  States.  A  large  school  was  established  just 
across  the  street  from  our  headquarters;  this  was 
overcrowded  and  they  were  compelled  to  have  night 
school  also.  Hundreds  of  natives  were  turned  away, 
as  there  was  not  enough  room  to  accommodate  all 
who  came.  The  city  had  made  rapid  strides  since  we 
had  left. 

The  Fourth  day  of  July  was  celebrated  in  the 
city.  A  large  parade  was  held  and  the  Governor 
made  a  speech,  which  was  listened  to  by  thousands 
of  natives,  being  given  in  their  language  by  an  inter- 
preter. A  large  number  of  the  natives  could  now 
speak  English  and  many  spoke  it  well.  Many  of  the 
low  dives  and  saloons  had  disappeared  and  reading 
rooms  and  libraries  were  established  over  the  entire 


188       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

city.  This  city  had  formerly  been  overrun  by  dogs. 
There  were  thousands  of  these  mangy  animals  to  be 
seen  in  every  part  of  the  city.  A  tax  was  placed 
upon  them  and  soon  the  streets  were  filled  with  na- 
tive dog  catchers.  These  went  about  every  day  with 
caribou  carts,  on  which  were  placed  cages.  With  a 
rope  attached  to  the  end  of  a  long  bamboo  pole,  they 
lassoed  the  dogs,  which  were  then  placed  in  the 
cages.  This  was  rather  a  hard  task  to  gather  up 
these  useless  animals,  and  took  months  to  accomplish 
it. 

Several  thousand  Filipinos  had  been  sworn  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States  as  constabulary  and 
scouts.  Over  these  were  placed  American  officers, 
and  one  could  see  almost  as  many  natives  in  uniform 
as  Americans.  They  were  very  proud  of  their  uni- 
form and  were  soon  expert  in  drill.  In  the  evening 
at  the  Luneta  band  stand  the  Filipino  constabulary 
band  rendered  fine  selections  of  music,  at  the  close 
of  which  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  was  played.  It 
is  the  general  order  in  the  army  that  when  this  air  is 
played,  all  must  stand  at  attention,  remove  the  hat 
and  place  over  the  heart. 

Here  on  the  Luneta,  when  this  selection  was  ren- 
dered, one  could  see  the  promenaders  stop,  remove 
the  hat,  as  did  those  in  the  service.  They  were  not 
long  in  learning  this  air  and  respected  it  as  did  the 
soldiers. 

The  engineer  corps  had  now  been  increased  to  a 
full  regiment  and  the  Second  Battalion  was  on  its 
way  to  the  Islands  to  relieve  us.  It  was  decided  that 
we  return  by  the  way  of  the  Suez  Canal,  thereby 
making  a  tour  of  the  world  in  the  United  States  ser- 
vice. The  men  of  our  company  were  highly  elated 
over  this  news  and  eagerly  awaited  the  coming  of 
the  transport.  We  had  served  over  two  years  in 
foreign  service  and  in  many  rather  severe  cam- 
paigns. Many  had  been  discharged  here  and  had  re- 


BACK  TO  THE  PHILIPPINES.  189 

turned  to  the  United  States;  others  had  re-enlisted 
on  receiving  their  discharge. 

Early  in  September  the  news  flashed  over  the 
cable  that  President  McKinley  had  been  shot  while 
visiting  at  Buffalo.  Manila  now  had  four  daily  pa- 
pers, printed  in  English.  Extra  editions  gave  a  long 
account  of  the  attempt  to  assassinate  the  president. 
This  caused  deep  regret  among  both  Americans  and 
natives.  A  week  later  news  of  his  death  was  an- 
nounced and  flags  were  ordered  at  half-mast.  Fun- 
eral services  were  held  on  the  day  of  his  burial.  All 
regimental  colors  were  ordered  into  Manila  and  all 
troops  near  the  city  marched  into  the  Luneta,  where 
thousands  of  natives  had  gathered  to  witness  the 
services.  Prayers  were  offered  and  "America"  was 
sung  by  the  troops.  The  service  was  observed 
throughout  the  entire  Island.  That  day  a  great  man 
had  been  laid  to  rest.  He  had  risen  to  the  highest 
position  in  public  life  and  had  left  behind  him  a  clean 
record.  The  fanatic,  who  took  his  life,  probably  had 
never  known  of  any  of  his  good  qualities.  This  deed 
had  now  been  repeated  twice  in  our  history  and  great 
care  and  precautions  were  taken  to  shield  the  men 
in  high  positions  from  danger. 

The  great  ice  plant  had  now  been  completed,  and 
this  had  lowered  the  price  of  that  precious  article 
in  the  city.  Filipino  business  houses  were  now  sell- 
ing ice  cream,  ice  cold  lemonade  and  many  other  cold 
drinks,  which  they  had  not  been  able  to  offer  two 
years  previous.  Many  of  the  natives  did  a  rushing 
business  on  the  streets  by  selling  ice  cream  that  had 
been  made  from  condensed  cream.  Their  trade  was 
principally  with  the  natives. 

Each  day  we  read  criticisms  in  the  paper  that  were 
made  by  a  certain  class  of  people  in  our  own  country, 
concerning  the  war  in  the  Philippines.  It  seemed 
incredulous  to  us  that  they  should  thus  condemn  the 
policy  that  had  been  pursued  by  the  government, 


190       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

for  we  could  plainly  see  the  opportunities  that  had 
been  opened  to  them.  Before,  they  had  been  ruled 
by  an  iron  hand;  they  were  overtaxed,  given  no 
privileges,  no  freedom  of  worship,  and  no  freedom  of 
the  press.  Government  and  religion  worked  hand  in 
hand,  and  the  people  were  held  in  bonds  of  slavery. 
Missionaries  now  arrived  and  introduced  the  idea 
of  freedom  of  worship,  which  these  people  had  never 
known.  The  priestcraft  had  a  hold  upon  them  like 
a  grip  of  iron,  and  had  Filipino  government  been 
allowed  to  proceed,  this  chain  would  doubtless  never 
have  been  broken.  Under  American  government  the 
power  of  this  great  order  of  friars  was  dissolved 
and  the  Filipinos  were  now  at  liberty  to  receive  an 
education  and  worship  as  they  chose. 

Doubtless  some  of  the  American  soldiers  had  fol- 
lowed unprincipled  practices,  after  which  some  of 
the  natives  would  pattern,  but  after  everything  has 
been  properly  adjusted  these  can  be  overcome.  We 
find  the  good  and  bad  element  in  the  army  as  well  as 
in  civil  life.  It  seems  that  in  every  undertaking  both 
good  and  evil  influences  are  set  in  motion. 

The  relief  battalion  had  now  arrived  and  were  sent 
in  sections  to  all  parts  of  the  Islands  to  relieve  our 
detachments,  who  were  at  work  remodeling  roads 
and  bridges.  These  men  directed  the  work  and  the 
labor  was  mostly  performed  by  Filipinos  who  were 
usually  employed  at  the  rate  of  50  cents  per  day. 
This  was  extremely  high  wages  for  them  and  hun- 
dreds were  turned  away  each  day. 

An  order  had  been  issued  by  the  governor  for  an 
improvement  of  the  harbor  at  Manila.  A  long  pier 
was  to  be  erected  and  dredges  were  set  to  work  to 
make  a  channel  for  boats,  that  they  might  load  or 
unload  at  the  pier,  thus  saving  thousands  of  dollars. 
It  was  thought  that  this  would  increase  trade. 

The  fresh  battalion  having  been  stationed,  we 
were  now  in  readiness  to  return  to  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  XL 

FROM  MANILA  TO  NEW  YOEK  BY  WAY  OF  SUEZ  CANAL. 

HE  army  transport,  McClellan,  had  ar- 
rived in  the  harbor  ,and  was  engaged  in 
unloading  the  cargo  of  rations.  This 
was  the  boat  on  which  we  should  make 
the  return.  Our  clothing  was  inspected 
and  placed  in  lockers  and  disinfected,  so  there  would 
be  no  danger  of  carrying  disease  aboard.  One  morn- 
ing near  the  middle  of  October,  we  fell  in  line  and 
marched  by  the  Luneta,  where  we  had  spent  so  many 
enjoyable  evenings.  But  these  were  forgotten  for 
the  present ;  we  walked  as  if  on  air,  for  this  day  we 
should  go  aboard  the  boat,  bound  for  home,  the  boys 
remarking  in  the  meantime  that  we  were  going  back 
to  God's  country  again.  An  Infantry  band  furnished 
us  music  as  we  marched  down  Malacolm  drive.  At 
the  Pasig  river  we  went  on  board  lighters  and  the 
tug  soon  drew  us  out  into  the  bay,  the  band  playing 
"Good-bye,  My  Lover,  Good-bye." 

We  had  been  on  so  many  transports  that  we  knew 
just  how  to  arrange  things  so  that  we  might  be  com- 
fortable. These  were  to  be  our  quarters  for  the 
next  two  months,  and  we  knew  we  should  have  to 
endure  many  rough  gales  before  we  reached  New 
York.  This  transport  was  used  for  carrying  sup- 
plies and  rations  from  New  York  to  Manila,  but  there 
were  sufficient  bunks  for  our  three  companies.  The 
cabins  were  filled  with  many  officers  of  the  different 
branches  of  the  service,  who  were  returning  from 
Manlia.  Guards  were  placed  on  the  deck  and  we 
were  not  allowed  on  the  stern  or  aft.  thus  limiting 
our  quarters  to  one-third  of  the  deck  room  of  the 
ship.  This  was  to  prevent  the  officers'  wives  from 


192       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

being  molested  as  they  reclined  in  their  easy  chairs 
on  the  deck.  They  could  not  bear  to  have  an  enlisted 
man  pass  them.  So  there  we  were,  in  rather 
cramped  quarters.  It  is  always  in  the  commanding 
officer's  power  to  allow  freedom  of  decks  if  he 
chooses,  and  we  thought  as  long  as  we  conducted  our- 
selves properly  we  should  have  been  given  that  privi- 
lege. But  we  suspected  that  the  women  had  played 
the  main  part  in  issuing  the  orders,  and  all  we  could 
do  was  to  obey  and  keep  silent  on  the  subject.  We 
soon  reached  the  China  Sea,  and  our  course  was 
directed  toward  Singapore.  These,  we  were  told, 
were  the  most  treacherous  waters  seafaring  men 
have  to  contend  with,  and  oftentimes  vessels  fight 
their  way  through  storms  for  weeks.  They  seem  to 
draw  the  vessels  in  and  hold  them,  carrying  them 
with  the  storm.  Tarpaulins  were  spread  across  the 
main  deck,  and  when  all  the  men  were  on  deck,  it 
was  thickly  crowded.  Squatting  on  the  deck,  stories 
were  told,  some  read,  others  argued,  played  cribbage, 
high-five  dominoes,  checkers  or  chess.  There  was  no 
band  on  this  boat,  but  we  had  several  splendid 
quartets,  guitars,  mandolins  and  banjos.  In  the 
evenings  we  entertained  ourselves  with  familiar 
songs,  sometimes  a  hundred  voices  taking  part.  Very 
little  rough  weather  was  had  at  the  beginning  of  the 
voyage. 

We  anchored  at  Singapore  one  day  about  ten 
o  'clock.  There  were  no  docks  here,  but  life  boats 
were  lowered  and  passes  were  given  to  all  who  de- 
sired to  go  ashore.  Singapore,  on  the  Malay  penin- 
sula, is  the  largest  seaport.  It  is  under  British 
control,  and  inhabited  by  East  Indians — tall,  dark, 
black  haired,  and  with  piercing  black  eyes.  Here 
there  were  thousands  of  Chinese  who  pushed  about 
jinrikishas.  A  large  garrison  of  English  soldiers 
was  stationed  here,  and  the  city  was  clean  and  well 
regulated  and  in  fine  sanitary  condition.  There  were 


SCENE    IN    ARMY    SLEEPING    ROOM. 


FROM  MANILA  TO  NEW  YORK.  193 

fine  parks,  filled  with  beautiful  flowers.  In  the  na- 
tives '  portion  of  the  city  there  were  beautiful  streets 
and  many  business  places.  Our  boat  remained  here 
two  days  and  we  visited  many  places  of  interest. 
Beyond  the  city  we  found  beautiful  roads,  and  thick 
vegetation.  We  visited  several  temples  which  were 
controlled  by  priests.  There  were  many  missions 
there,  for  that  seemed  to  be  one  of  their  important 
fields. 

Our  boat  left  Singapore  on  the  third  morning  after 
our  arrival  and  we  passed  through  the  Strait  of 
Malacca,  approaching  within  one-half  degree  of  the 
equator.  Then  our  course  was  changed  to  north- 
ward, passing  along  the  shores  of  Sumatra.  This  is 
under  Dutch  control.  We  passed  through  the  strait, 
and  were  soon  in  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  weather 
was  now  a  little  rough,  but  there  had  been  no  storms. 
After  seven  or  eight  days  we  came  in  sight  of  the 
Island  of  Ceylon,  and  our  vessel  anchored  about 
three  miles  off  shore.  We  saw  several  queer  looking 
objects  approaching  and  as  they  came  alongside  our 
boat  we  knew  they  were  native  boys  who  were  divers. 
They  sat  in  line  on  a  piece  of  timber,  which  was  kept 
in  motion  by  their  hands,  which  they  used  as  paddles. 
Each  stick  was  about  fifteen  feet  long  and  accom- 
modated a  dozen  boys.  They  would  rise  on  the  log 
and  dance  and  sing,  calling  out  to  us,  "dive,  dive." 
When  we  threw  a  coin  into  the  water,  about  a  dozen 
dove  after  it,  jumping  off  the  log  like  bull  frogs. 
The  one  who  secured  it  always  held  up  his  arm  above 
the  water,  showing  the  coin  in  his  fingers.  They  re- 
mained near  our  boat  so  long  that  we  were  almost  of 
the  opinion  that  they  lived  in  the  water.  Their  hair 
was  bleached  so  as  to  be  almost  white.  Again,  all 
who  wished  were  allowed  to  go  on  shore  to  the  city 
of  Colombo.  Here  we  found  many  thousands  of 
Boer  prisoners  and  we  spent  some  time  visiting 
their  camp,  which  was  several  miles  beyond  the  city. 


194       ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

They  were  well  cared  for,  and  their  camp  was  clean. 
Many  of  them  were  restless  and  discontented,  not 
being  used  to  close  confinement.  The  English  sol- 
diers were  very  accommodating  and  allowed  us  many 
privileges.  On  our  return  to  the  city  we  visited  the 
Botanical  and  Cinnamon  Gardens.  The  former  was 
a  large  park,  with  animals,  snakes  and  all  sorts  of 
creatures  which  inhabit  the  island.  We  wished  that 
we  might  spend  hours  here  looking  at  the  plants, 
trees,  flowers  and  birds  of  all  curious  varieties.  This 
island  being  under  British  control,  the  seaports  were 
well  regulated.  The  natives  here  somewhat  resem- 
bled those  of  Singapore.  Many  of  the  women  wore 
rings  in  the  noses  and  ears.  Carriages  were  drawn 
by  cattle  and  it  was  very  amusing  to  us  to  see  a  cow 
trotting  along  the  street  drawing  a  covered  carriage, 
filled  with  American  soldiers,  laughing  and  chatter- 
ing. There  were  many  temples  in  the  city,  and  this 
was  a  good  missionary  field,  as  it  was  well  protected 
by  the  English.  We  noticed  that  all  small  children 
were  without  clothing,  some  having  a  locket  and 
chain  around  the  neck.  It  seemed  that  these  people 
were  fond  of  jewelry. 

When  we  boarded  the  boat  we  found  the  Hindoo 
magicians  there.  They  had  with  them  a  large  cobra. 
They  first  took  up  a  collection  and  then  began  on 
their  tricks.  One  began  by  removing  hard  round 
stones  from  his  mouth.  He  drew  five  from  his 
mouth,  each  one  in  turn  growing  larger.  Then  he 
insisted  that  he  must  have  more  money  before  re- 
moving more.  Another  contribution  was  made  for 
him  and  he  took  three  more  out,  each  larger  than 
the  preceding  one.  The  boys  called  for  more.  He 
agreed  to  take  a  very  large  one  from  his  mouth  for 
another  sum  of  money.  This  was  raised  and  he  re- 
moved a  large,  hard,  round  stone  from  his  mouth. 
In  the  meantime  his  comrade  was  talking  over  the 
snake.  He  performed  several  other  small  tricks,  and 


FROM  MANILA  TO  NEW  YORK.  195 

then  told  us  that  for  one  dollar  he  would  make  the 
mango  tree  grow.  The  dollar  was  soon  produced  and 
he  produced  the  seed  from  which  the  tree  must  grow, 
his  partner  still  talking  to  the  snake.  He  placed  the 
seed  on  the  deck,  took  a  large  cloth,  shook  out  its 
folds,  and  then  placed  it  over  the  seed.  Then  step- 
ping back  he  passed  his  hands  in  front  of  him,  hum- 
ming in  a  low  pleasant  tone,  "Gildy,  gildy,  gildy 
grow,"  repeating  it  again  and  again,  still  passing 
his  hands  in  front  of  his  face.  The  other  man  was 
still  busy  with  the  snake.  In  a  short  time  the  cloth 
began  to  rise.  Higher  and  higher  it  went.  He  soon 
removed  the  cloth,  and  we  found  that  the  mango 
seed  had  split  open  and  from  it  had  grown  a  tree 
twelve  or  fourteen  inches  high,  covered  with  green 
leaves.  This  he  took  up,  wrapped  it  in  his  cloth  and 
taking  up  their  snake  they  soon  departed,  bidding  us 
good-bye. 

Small  native  boats  loaded  with  curios  and  trinkets 
of  all  descriptions  came  out  from  the  city.  After 
these  came  boats  with  fruit,  oranges,  bananas,  and 
coral  of  the  most  beautiful  colors.  Our  boat  re- 
mained here  three  days,  taking  on  large  quantities 
of  coal  and  fresh  meat.  We  then  continued  on  our 
way  across  the  Indian  Ocean.  We  next  passed  Aden, 
but  did  not  stop  there.  In  this  city  on  the  Arabian 
coast  it  is  necessary  to  condense  water  for  use.  This 
we  were  told  was  a  city  of  little  interest.  Next  we 
passed  through  the  Strait  of  Bab-el-Mandeb,  with 
Arabia  on  our  right,  Africa  to  the  left.  To  the  left 
we  could  see  a  large  flag  staff.  This  we  were  told 
was  English  Aden.  The  coast  line  and  rocks  which 
were  visible  on  either  side  were  red.  From  this  the 
Eed  Sea  derives  its  name.  This  sea  is  long  and  nar- 
row and  we  were  in  the  path  of  ocean  steamers  which 
we  passed  every  few  hours,  most  of  them  flying  the 
British  flag,  and  we  could  form  some  idea  of  the 
great  commerce  carried  on  by  that  country.  Many 


196       ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

of  the  large  ocean  liners  sped  past  us,  they  being 
faster  boats  than  ours.  On  Sunday  as  we  journeyed 
along  this  sea,  the  chaplain  on  board  held  service 
and  preached  to  us.  He  told  us  that  if  we  arose  early 
enough  the  next  morning  we  could  see  Mt.  Sinai  from 
the  boat.  Many  of  us  were  up  earlier  than  usual, 
and  an  old  sailor,  who  was  on  the  lookout  pointed  it 
out  to  us.  Here  the  great  leader  of  Israel  had  re- 
ceived the  commandments,  written  by  the  finger  of 
God,  on  a  tablet  of  stone.  There  it  stood  like  a 
grand  monument,  soon  passing  from  our  view.  Our 
next  stop  was  at  Suez,  a  Turkish  port.  There  we 
anchored  and  awaited  our  turn  to  pass  through  the 
canal. 

A  small  boat  rowed  along  side  and  a  large  Turkish 
doctor  came  aboard  to  inspect  our  boat,  after  which 
the  quarantine  flag  was  hauled  down.  The  water 
here  was  very  clear,  and  we  could  see  the  bottom  far 
down  beneath  our  boat.  Large  sharks  could  be  seen 
swimming  around  our  boat,  piloted  by  a  long  neat 
fish,  which  remained  under  the  jaws  of  the  shark, 
and  is  called  the  pilot  fish.  With  every  one  that 
came  near  we  saw  that  it  was  accompanied  by  its 
pilot.  Other  fishes  of  many  sizes  and  varieties  could 
be  seen  in  the  water  which  was  clear  as  crystal. 

After  waiting  several  hours,  anchor  was  drawn 
and  we  proceeded  on  our  way  through  the  canal,  one 
of  the  great  engineering  feats  of  the  age;  a  water- 
way which  allows  the  largest  ocean  steamers  to  pass 
from  the  Red  Sea  into  the  Mediterranean  and  cover- 
ing a  distance  of  eighty-seven  miles.  A  French  pilot 
came  aboard  and  a  searchlight  was  placed  in  the  bow 
of  the  vessel.  We  made  our  way  slowly,  passing 
many  vessels  and  crossing  a  large  lake.  On  one  side 
of  the  shore  we  noticed  several  boys  With  dark  hair 
and  dark  complexions,  wearing  gowns  which  came  to 
the  knees.  We  soon  secured  a  lot  of  hardtack,  which 
we  pitched  ashore,  and  had  them  racing  after  us. 


FROM  MANILA  TO  NEW  YORK.  197 

One  of  them  soon  became  winded  and  gave  up  the 
race,  but  the  other  continued  running,  puffing  and 
sweating,  his  gown  flapping  merrily  about  his  legs. 
This  interfered  considerably  with  his  progress,  so 
he  removed  it  and  then  was  able  to  make  better  time. 
But  our  boat  started  at  a  more  rapid  movement  and 
he  was  compelled  to  fall  behind  too. 

On  awakening  next  morning  we  found  that  our 
boat  had  tied  up  at  the  docks  at  Port  Said,  and  was 
coaling  there.  No  one  was  allowed  to  go  ashore  as 
they  were  under  quarantine,  the  city  being  infected 
with  Bubonic  plague.  Large  tin  shields  were  placed 
on  the  hausers,  which  were  tied  to  the  dock.  These 
were  to  prevent  rats  from  going  aboard  the  boat, 
and  carrying  the  disease  with  them.  After  coaling, 
our  lines  were  loosened  and  we  made  our  way  into 
the  Mediterranean,  bound  for  Malta.  The  weather 
was  now  delightful,  the  sky  blue  and  at  night  the 
water  seemed  to  be  filled  with  lights.  This  was  the 
Bosphorus  and  many  times  the  water  seemed  to  be 
filled  with  electricity. 

After  many  days  of  pleasant  sailing  land  was 
again  sighted  and  we  made  our  way  into  a  small  and 
beautiful  harbor,  with  a  city  on  either  side  of  us. 
This  island  is  directly  south  of  Sicily.  Here  Paul 
was  shipwrecked  when  being  taken  from  Jerusalem 
to  Eome.  This  we  found  to  be  a  beautiful  little 
island  with  an  ideal  climate.  The  natives  were  dark 
but  very  nice  looking,  being  very  well  proportioned, 
and  very  friendly  they  were  too.  We  learned  that 
there  were  a  large  number  of  English  soldiers  here 
on  account  of  a  threatened  outbreak,  caused  by  a 
tax  which  had  been  levied  upon  them  for  Boer  War 
expenses.  We  were  here  allowed  ashore  again  and 
many  of  us  went  far  out  in  the  country  beyond  the 
city.  We  saw  many  queer  looking  castles,  sur- 
rounded by  stone  walls.  Along  the  roads  were  stone 
fences  and  many  of  the  fields  were  separated  by 


198       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

similar  structures.  Large  quantities  of  vegetables 
were  raised  and  fishing  was  carried  on  extensively 
in  the  waters  immediately  surrounding  the  island. 

Here  we  stayed  three  days  and  then  continued  our 
journey  across  the  Mediterranean,  and  it  was  not 
long  until  we  saw  the  point  of  Gibraltar  looming  up 
in  the  distance.  We  passed  behind  this  sea  wall  and 
remained  here  until  the  vessel  had  again  coaled.  The 
weather  was  very  stormy  and  rough,  but  we  were 
well  protected  from  it  as  long  as  we  remained  here. 
Shore  leave  was  granted  again,  and  many  of  the  men 
stepped  for  the  first  time  upon  European  soil.  We 
found  that  the  place  was  strongly  fortified.  Large 
caves  have  been  cut  in  the  rock  and  it  has  been  said 
that  the  English  have  these  stored  with  ammunition 
and  rations,  there  being  enough  to  last  a  large  gar- 
rison twenty  years.  This  is  a  naval  base  and  the 
British  Mediterranean  fleet  has  its  headquarters 
here.  We  crossed  a  small  drawbridge  into  Spanish 
territory.  On  one  side  of  the  bridge  were  English 
guards,  on  the  other  Spanish.  We  could  see  many 
Spanish  villages  along  the  shore  line,  and  a  railroad 
extending  inland.  Twenty  miles  distant  across  the 
strait  could  be  seen  the  coast  of  Morocco. 

Our  boat  remained  here  three  or  four  days  waiting 
for  the  storm  to  subside.  We  then  left  the  harbor 
passed  through  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar  and  were 
soon  out  on  the  great  Atlantic.  We  took  the  south- 
ern route  for  New  York,  passing  the  Canary  Islands 
on  our  way.  Several  days  later  we  were  overtaken 
by  a  great  storm.  In  the  evening  the  sky  looked  ex- 
tremely gray — and  the  hatches  were  battened  down, 
and  the  sailors  went  about  with  serious  faces,  one 
old  sailor  remarking  that  from  all  indications  we 
were  running  into  a  terrible  storm.  He  said  the 
wind  was  heading  direct  from  the  northwest,  and  we 
could  expect  a  terrible  blow.  He  was  an  old  man, 
and  had  been  a  sailor  all  his  life,  so  we  felt  that  we 


FROM  MANILA  TO  NEW  YORK.  199 

were  nearing  danger.  The  wind  was  then  rapidly 
rising  and  soon  everything  was  a  continual  roar. 
The  boat  pitched  and  rolled.  Many  had  placed  their 
mess  pans  over  their  bunks,  and  these  were  shaken 
and  dislodged  from  their  positions  and  went  rattling 
backward  and  forward  on  the  deck.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  stand  now  without  holding.  We  had  noticed 
that  in  the  evening  the  pilot  had  been  lashed  fast  to 
the  pilot  house,  so  he  might  be  able  to  handle  the 
wheel.  We  did  not  wonder  now  at  this  precaution, 
for  we  were  unable  to  stand  at  all  without  a  firm 
hold  on  some  object. 

Our  boat's  course  was  directly  against  the  wind. 
Oftentimes  when  on  a  large  swell  the  propeller  was 
clear  of  the  water,  the  wind  would  drive  us  back  for 
quite  a  distance,  then  the  bow  would  strike  a  large 
swell  and  divide  it,  the  water  flying  high  in  the  air, 
later  to  come  down  on  the  deck  like  a  ton  of  brick. 
The  boat  quivered  and  seemed  to  crouch,  as  though 
another  wave  like  that  would  splinter  it  to  pieces. 
A  few  became  sick  and  now  and  then  we  could  hear 
some  one  faintly  singing, 

"O !  Mr.  Captain,  stop  the  ship, 
I  want  to  get  out  and  walk, 
I  feel  so  flipperty,  flopperty  flip, 
And  I  think  I'll  never  see  New  York. 

"O !  Mr.  Captain,  stop  the  ship, 
Methinks  of  the  wrecking  main. 
High,  high !  Send  me  a  cab, 
To  take  me  home  again." 

Some  laughed  at  the  storm,  but  as  another  swell 
struck  us  others  would  remark,  ''she  is  going  this 
time  sure." 

Three  days  passed  in  this  way  and  there  were  no 
signs  of  the  storm  abating.  The  wind  was  now  blow- 
ing a  gale  and  the  sailors  claimed  it  was  traveling 
at  the  rate  of  sixty  to  seventy-five  miles  an  hour. 
Our  boat  reeled  like  a  drunken  man  as  she  crossed 


200       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

these  swells,  going  from  side  to  side,  then  pitching 
forward.  Sometimes  she  would  ride  a  large  swell 
and  as  this  passed  from  under  her  it  seemed  as 
though  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  had  dropped  out  let- 
ting us  down  with  a  heavy  jerk.  After  six  days  of 
storm  the  wind  began  to  abate,  but  the  rollers 
seemed  larger  than  before.  Sails  were  used  to 
steady  the  vessel  for  it  was  light.  The  coal  was  al- 
most gone  from  her  bunkers  and  it  was  impossible 
to  reach  New  York  with  such  a  small  amount.  Our 
vessel  was  then  headed  for  the  Bermudas,  off  the 
coast  of  the  United  States,  and  opposite  Charleston, 
South  Carolina.  After  several  days  had  passed 
these  were  sighted,  and  there  our  grand  old  boat  an- 
chored. 

We  felt  very  respectful  toward  her,  now  that  she 
had  withstood  the  storm  so  heroically  and  carried 
us  through  the  danger.  On  our  way  into  the  harbor 
we  passed  many  wrecked  vessels.  Some  with  masts 
and  smoke  stacks  blown  completely  away.  A  num- 
ber of  them  were  towed  into  the  harbor  by  tugs,  to 
receive  repairs  before  continuing  on  their  way.  They 
had  not  been  so  fortunate  as  we,  for  our  boat  had 
come  thus  far  without  an  accident.  Coal  barges  ran 
alongside  our  vessel  and  men  were  soon  busy  filling 
the  bunkers.  This  took  several  days  for  our  supply 
was  almost  exhausted.  In  the  meantime  we  were  ob- 
serving the  islands.  We  were  near  the  beautiful 
little  town  of  Hamilton,  and  could  see  cottages  and 
houses  in  the  distance,  which  appeared  as  mere  dots. 
We  found  that  a  great  many  wealthy  people  were  ac- 
customed to  spending  the  winter  there;  that  large 
quantities  of  vegetables  were  raised  there,  but  the 
principal  one  was  onions.  These  were  large  yellow 
Spanish  onions,  some  of  which  would  weigh  several 
pounds. 

Our  boat  having  been  supplied  with  coal  we  started 
again  on  the  homeward  voyage.  The  weather  was 


FROM  MANILA  TO  NEW  YORK.  201 

extremely  mild,  as  our  course  lay  now  along  the  Gulf 
Stream.  We  all  went  about  in  shirt  sleeves.  But 
this  did  not  last  long  and  as  we  journeyed  north- 
ward, the  air  became  chilly  and  the  boys  were  soon 
searching  for  overcoats  and  gloves.  Two  days  later 
we  sighted  the  great  Scotland  light,  which  marks  the 
entrance  to  New  York  Harbor.  This  we  soon  passed, 
then  Sandy  Hook  and  Staten  Island.  Snow  covered 
the  ground,  making  us  feel  very  chilly.  To  our  right 
on  Long  Island  was  Ft.  Hamilton,  to  our  left  Ft. 
Wadsworth  on  Staten  Island.  These  were  familiar 
places  to  us,  for  we  had  often  visited  friends  there. 
Then  the  Statue  of  Liberty  could  be  seen  in  front  of 
us  on  Liberty  Island.  What  a  great  harbor  this  is ! 
Boats  darting  in  all  directions,  ocean  liners  passing 
in  and  out,  large  ferry  boats  ploughing  their  way 
through  the  water,  giving  the  harbor  a  confusing  ap- 
pearance. 

This  well  deserves  the  name  of  being  the  greatest 
harbor  in  the  world.  As  we  passed  on  we  were  all 
admiring  that  great  structure — the  East  River  sus- 
pension bridge.  Next  we  turned  to  observe  the  great 
city  in  front  of  us,  dotted  with  its  tall  skyscrapers, 
which  appeared  like  tall  chimneys  beside  the  smaller 
buildings.  After  passing  quarantine  the  boat  ran  in 
to  the  Jersey  pier,  thereby  completing  our  tour  of 
the  world,  with  Uncle  Sam.  Here  we  found  many 
anxious  friends  awaiting  us  for  most  of  our  com- 
rades' homes  were  near  the  city  of  New  York.  It 
was  now  very  near  Christmas  time,  December  20th, 
and  all  whose  homes  were  near,  were  granted  a 
twenty  day  furlough.  The  remainder  of  our  number 
proceeded  on  to  Jefferson  Barracks,  Missouri,  ar- 
riving at  that  place  the  day  after  Christmas.  Jeffer- 
son Barracks  had  been  changed  since  my  short  stay 
there  three  years  previous.  The  place  looked  un- 
familiar to  me  since  improvements  had  been  made. 
As  we  marched  up  the  steep  hillside  we  passed  the 


202       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

new  headquarters  building  in  front  of  which  was 
placed  a  large  Spanish  gun,  which  had  been  captured 
and  taken  from  the  Reina  Mercedes.  Here  we  had 
a  good  view  of  the  Mississippi,  which  now  appeared 
so  small  to  us  after  the  voyage.  Our  company  was 
soon  comfortably  settled  in  the  new  barracks,  and  we 
were  set  to  work  at  drilling  recruits,  who  came  in  to 
fill  up  our  company,  which  was  far  below  the  re- 
quired number.  I  had  been  promoted  to  corporal 
during  the  campaign  in  China  and  now  spent  many 
hours  drilling  "rukies."  We  were  to  remain  at  the 
barracks  until  the  coming  spring,  when  we  were  to 
proceed  to  Ft.  Leavenworth,  near  Kansas  City.  This 
was  the  military  school  for  officers  and  was  to  be- 
come one  of  the  largest  garrisons  in  the  United 
States. 

Engineers,  infantry,  cavalry,  signal  corps  and  ar- 
tillery were  to  be  stationed  there.  Old  buildings 
were  put  in  better  condition  and 'new  ones  erected. 
Winter  passed  quickly  by,  and  many  of  us  witnessed 
the  breaking  of  the  ground  for  the  World's  Fair  to 
be  held  near  St.  Louis  the  next  year.  In  the  month 
of  April  we  were  sent  to  Ft.  Leavenworth,  where 
many  thousands  were  arriving  for  garrison  duty. 
We  were  kept  busy  here  drilling  our  company  in 
making  spar  bridges,  going  on  reconnaissance,  mak- 
ing maps,  surveying  and  various  other  duties.  The 
weather  was  pleasant  and  the  different  troops  en- 
gaged in  many  exciting  games  of  ball.  This  was  a 
favorite  sport  with  the  soldiers  and  many  of  them 
were  expert  players.  There  was  a  splendid  target 
range  here  and  in  May  our  target  season  began.  A 
large  military  prison  was  erected  and  many  hun- 
dreds of  convicts,  who  had  received  hard  labor  sen- 
tences, were  here  carefully  guarded.  Most  of  these 
were  from  Indian  Territory,  New  Mexico  and  Ari- 
zona. All  criminals  from  these  territories  were  sent 
to  the  military  prison. 


FROM  MANILA  TO  NEW  YORK.  203 

My  term  of  service  expired  on  May  25th  and  I  de- 
cided to  leave  the  service.  After  receiving  my  dis- 
charge I  bade  my  comrades  good-bye,  and  left  Ft. 
Leavenworth  to  enter  civil  life ;  thus  ending  my  six 
years '  service  in  the  United  States  Army. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AEMY  HAPPENINGS. 

UR  lieutenant  colonel  often  drilled  the  regi- 
ment when  the  colonel  was  absent.  He 
was  a  tall,  fleshy  old  man  and  had  a  very 
high-spirited  horse  of  which  he  was  very 
much  afraid.  He  liked  to  put  on  airs 
when  he  was  drilling  us,  but  was  always  very  ner- 
vous and  fidgety  and  soon  received  the  name  of  ' l  Old 
Man  Afraid  of  His  Horse."  We  often  had  some 
very  hearty  laughs  over  his  antics.  He  would  tell 
us  he  was  going  to  give  a  very  difficult  command  to 
execute,  then  he  would  start  to  give  the  command. 
When  he  would  raise  his  voice  the  horse  would  begin 
to  canter  and  jump  and  he  would  finish  up  with 
' l  fours  right, ' '  then  before  finishing  the  command, 
would  say  to  his  horse:  "Whoa  boy!  Whoa  boy! 
March!"  and  would  forget  all  about  his  wonderful 
command.  One  day  while  at  drill  the  horse  became 
frightened,  throwing  his  rider  off  and  breaking  his 
leg  below  the  knee,  laying  him  up  for  several  months. 
He  turned  his  horse  over  to  the  captain  of  Company 
Or  to  break  in  for  him.  This  captain  we  called 
"Dandy  Pat."  Dandy  soon  had  him  under  control. 
Oftentimes  when  giving  a  command  the  horse  would 
jump,  and  "Dandy"  would  strike  him  between  the 
ears  with  the  hilt  of  his  sword. 

We  often  had  quite  a  lot  of  amusement  with  new 
recruits  while  on  their  first  guard  duty.  One  of  our 
most  exciting  drills  was  bayonet  exercise.  The  gun 
is  thrown  forward  in  parries  and  lunges,  placed  in 
many  different  kinds  of  guards,  butt  of  the  piece 
forced  to  the  rear,  right  and  left,  front  and  rear 
passes  are  executed  with  right  and  left  volts  in  con- 


206       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

junction  with  the  movement  of  the  piece  and  mak- 
ing a  very  beautiful  and  exciting  drill.  This  drill  is 
always  taught  to  the  recruits,  so  as  to  accustom  them 
to  the  use  of  their  piece.  We  had  a  new  German  re- 
cruit and  of  course  the  boys  made  him  believe  that 
this  bayonet  drill  covered  every  duty,  to  afford  them 
some  amusement.  It  came  the  turn  of  this  new  re- 
cruit for  guard  duty.  He  was  placed  on  post,  which 
was  around  the  corridor  of  the  cell  in  the  inside  of 
the  guardhouse.  This  was  his  first  tour  of  guard 
duty  and  he  was  very  much  excited,  forgetting  almost 
everything  except  bayonet  exercise  and  a  few  in- 
structions in  fire  orders,  which  some  practical  joker 
had  given  him  before  going  on  duty.  The  officer  of 
the  guard  always  visits  sentries  on  posts  to  see  that 
they  understand  their  orders  properly.  On  ap- 
proaching this  German  sentry  he  asked  him  several 
orders,  then  inquired  what  he  would  do  if  two  of  the 
prisoners  would  try  to  take  his  gun.  He  remarked, 
he  would  step  back  and  go  through  his  bayonet  ex- 
ercises. The  officer  explained  to  him  it  would  be  his 
duty  to  shoot  and  pay  no  attention  to  the  bayonet 
drill.  He  next  asked  him  what  he  would  do,  if  while 
guarding  the  building  it  would  catch  fire,  he  said  he 
would  shoot  off  his  gun  and  then  pile  on  more  wood. 
The  officer  was  compelled  to  remove  him  from  post 
and  have  the  corporal  of  his  relief  instruct  him  in 
guard  duty. 

Two  great  characters  in  our  company,  were 
Becker,  a  bugler  and  Kennedy  a  private.  They  were 
bunkies  and  one  would  always  see  them  together. 
They  were  both  great  ''tipplers."  Becker  had  been 
in  the  service  twenty-nine  years  and  was  very  seldom 
sober.  His  clothes  were  generally  greasy  and  every 
one  called  him  "Piggy."  Kennedy  was  called 
' '  Chicken  Thief. ' '  The  way  this  name  originated  he 
and  Becker  were  out  one  night  and  as  they  were 
returning  to  the  barracks  they  passed  a  Chinese 


AEMY  HAPPENINGS.  207 

laundry,  which  was  in  the  garrison.  Sam,  the  China- 
man, had  a  number  of  chickens.  Kennedy  had  seen 
these  and  this  night  stole  a  large  rooster,  bringing  it 
to  the  quarters  under  his  overcoat.  He  had  placed  it 
in  the  bottom  of  his  locker.  The  next  morning  about 
daybreak  the  rooster  began  crowing  from  his  locker. 
Kennedy  slipped  the  door  open  and  meant  to  wring 
the  fowl's  neck.  The  rooster  slipped  past  him  and 
started  down  the  room  squawking,  with  Kennedy  in 
pursuit  in  his  underwear.  The  rooster  landed  on 
Sergeant  Porter's  bunk,  squawking,  flew  against  a 
window  knocking  down  a  few  flowers  which  the  ser- 
geant had  near  his  bunk.  The  sergeant  collared 
Kennedy  placed  him  under  arrest,  but  later  on  re- 
lented and  Kennedy  was  given  a  week's  duty  in  the 
kitchen  for  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  squad  room. 
That  night  Becker  had  taken  his  blanket  and  made 
a  bed  on  the  veranda.  He  was  bald-headed  and  it 
being  a  very  cold  night  the  top  of  his  head  was 
frozen ;  it  then  turned  black  and  peeled  off.  Several 
weeks  later  Kennedy  had  been  on  a  "jamboree,"  and 
had  been  out  dissipating  all  night.  The  next  day  it 
was  his  turn  for  guard  duty.  He  was  guarding  pris- 
oners, keeping  them  at  work  and  preventing  their 
escape.  They  had  been  hauling  ashes  to  the  dump 
ground,  which  was  located  about  one-half  mile  back 
of  Q.  M.  stables  in  a  deep  ravine.  Kennedy  being 
tired  had  sat  down  on  a  box  while  they  were  dumping 
the  cart.  He  was  in  charge  of  two  desperate  pris- 
oners. He  dozed  off  into  a  light  sleep  and  while 
sleeping  the  prisoners  approached  him  stealthily, 
grabbed  his  gun  and  made  him  their  prisoner.  They 
marched  him  back  about  three  miles  from  the  fort. 
Here  they  halted  him  and  made  him  stand  by  a  tree. 
They  proceeded  onward  about  one-half  mile,  where 
they  leaned  his  gun  against  a  bush  and  then  passed 
on  over  the  hill  out  of  sight.  Kennedy  proceeded, 
secured  his  rifle  and  as  it  was  impossible  to  recap- 


208       ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

ture  them  he  returned  to  the  guardhouse  and  gave 
the  alarm.  Here  his  belt  was  removed  and  he  was 
placed  behind  the  bars.  A  general  court-martial  was 
ordered,  he  was  tried  by  eleven  officers  and  sentenced 
to  three  months'  hard  labor  and  thirty  dollars  fine. 
This  seemed  to  straighten  him  out,  for  after  return- 
ing to  the  company  for  duty  he  was  a  much  better 
soldier.  After  "Piggy"  had  served  his  thirty  years 
he  was  retired  on  three-quarter  pay  and  allowances. 
The  last  news  we  had  of  him  he  was  a  messenger  for 
some  department  commander,  but  if  he  continued  his 
drinking  like  he  did  while  in  the  company  the  chances 
are  he  did  not  hold  his  situation  very  long. 

It  is  often  very  comical  to  watch  an  inexperienced 
corporal  trying  to  drill  a  company  of  recruits.  One 
day  the  corporal  was  drilling  a  squad  of  recruits  and 
was  explaining  the  difference  between  quick  and 
double  time,  that  in  quick  time  a  step  is  taken  in 
thirty  inches  and  two  steps  to  the  second.  Double 
time  the  men  take  a  run  and  increase  the  speed.  He 
had  not  explained  to  them  that  when  they  return 
from  double  time  to  quick,  they  should  take  their 
former  pace.  After  he  commanded  quick  time,  they 
being  in  double  time  thought  he  meant  that  they 
should  go  faster  and  they  ran  away  from  him,  he 
following  up  calling  on  them  to  stop,  but  they  did 
not  hear  him  and  continued  on  until  some  one  cross- 
ing in  front  of  them  checked  their  movement.  The 
corporal  now  came  up  out  of  breath  telling  them  he 
had  meant  that  they  should  take  up  the  march  instead 
of  running  a  foot  race.  It  is  very  easy  to  become 
confused  as  a  drill  instructor  and  one  must  under- 
stand drill  regulations  and  explain  them  very  care- 
fully. 

A  German  member  of  our  company  while  on  the 
firing  line  at  El  Caney  was  conversing  with  comrades 
on  both  sides  of  him ;  the  one  on  the  right  ceased  to 
talk  to  him  and  he  remarked  to  .the  comrade  on  the 


AN    ARMY    CAMI1    KITCHEN. 


ARMY  HAPPENINGS.  209 

left  that  he  must  be  asleep.  The  fire  continued  and 
after  a  while  the  one  on  the  left  ceased  talking  also. 
The  German  after  firing  from  his  position  for  awhile, 
having  no  one  to  talk  to  moved  back  several  yards, 
where  there  was  a  rise;  later  on  he  found  that  his 
two  comrades  had  been  killed  and  he  had  been  lying 
between  them  for  several  hours  thinking  they  were 
asleep. 

t  El  Caney  a  number  of  us  were  visiting  the  vil- 
lage the  day  after  the  battle.  Going  down  a  road  we 
crossed  a  bridge  which  is  on  the  edge  of  the  village. 
We  had  left  our  guns  at  our  tents  a  couple  hundred 
yards  up  on  the  hill.  We  explored  the  town  with  its 
awful  effects  of  battle,  viewing  the  bodies  of  the 
Spanish  general  and  staff.  On  the  general's  light 
blue  uniform  were  three  silver  stars  on  each 
shoulder.  A  friend  of  mine  began  cutting  off  several 
of  these  stars  with  his  pen-knife.  We  told  him  we 
would  not  take  these,  but  he  remarked  that  he  wanted 
them  for  souvenirs.  They  never  did  him  any  good, 
as  he  died  about  four  weeks  later  with  dysentery. 
After  looking  over  the  town  we  started  to  return  to 
our  camp.  "Fatty  Allen,"  a  large,  jolly  corporal 
had  captured  a  small  pig.  He  would  hold  it  under 
one  arm  and  twist  its  tail,  making  it  squeal.  Cross- 
ing the  bridge  on  our  left  was  the  blockhouse ;  several 
of  the  boys  had  gone  here  to  investigate  it,  there  be- 
ing a  Cuban  with  them.  They  found  the  door  barred 
and  upon  trying  to  open  it,  a  Spanish  captain  inside 
asked  them  what  they  wanted.  This  surprised  them, 
as  they  did  not  know  there  was  any  one  inside.  The 
Cubans  told  him  they  wanted  him  to  surrender.  We 
could  now  hear  their  conversation  and  the  Spanish 
officer  remarked  that  he  would  never  surrender  to 
Americans  and  began  firing  from  the  loop-holes  in 
the  blockhouse.  The  men  nearest  the  blockhouse 
jumped  into  an  intrenchment  near  by.  We  were  in 
plain  view  about  seventy-five  yards  distant,  and  he 


210       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

opened  fire  on  us,  we  starting  up  the  hill  on  a  jump, 
" Fatty  Allen"  dropping  his  pig  which  ran  away 
squealing.  About  every  fifteen  seconds  a  bullet 
would  whiz  by  our  heels  or  over  our  heads,  as  we  ran 
up  the  hill  as  fast  as  our  legs  would  carry  us.  After 
reaching  our  guns  several  details  were  made  up  of 
sharpshooters,  which  directed  a  fire  against  the 
blockhouse,  from  several  directions  and  in  about  one- 
half  hour  the  Spanish  captain  was  wounded  and 
taken  prisoner. 

While  lying  in  our  intrenchments  near  Santiago, 
along  the  San  Luis  and  Santiago  railway,  a  few  days 
after  the  surrender  of  this  place,  the  Commander  of 
the  Fifth  Army  Corps  moved  his  headquarters  to  a 
range  of  low  hills  on  our  right.  His  outfit  passed  by 
our  camp.  The  general,  who  was  a  large,  fleshy  man, 
weighing  over  three  hundred  pounds,  was  bringing 
up  the  rear  in  a  four-wheeled  runabout,  drawn  by 
two  large  army  mules.  Over  him  was  a  large  um- 
brella. His  face  was  purple  with  heat  and  he  was 
mopping  the  perspiration  from  his  large,  massive 
jaws. 

Everyone  began  laughing  as  he  came  into  view, 
nearly  all  of  us  getting  out  of  sight  behind  bushes. 
Tied  to  the  back  end  of  his  buggy  was  a  cow,  and 
following  it  was  a  small  calf.  Upon  seeing  this,  sev- 
eral of  the  boys  who  were  hidden,  began  to  call, 
' '  Baa !  Baa !  Baa ! ' '  then  from  some  other  clump  some 
one  would  call — "Give  that  calf  more  rope!"  The 
general  looked  about  in  every  direction,  but  could 
see  no  one  of  whom  he  could  inquire  to  find  out  where 
this  noise  was  coming  from.  As  he  passed  out  of 
sight,  we  no  longer  wondered  how  he  managed  to 
keep  on  such  large  proportions  of  flesh,  as  he  had  a 
cow  from  which  he  could  receive  a  large  supply  of 
milk  at  any  time. 

Great  honor  should  be  given  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  as 
they  managed  to  keep  the  soldiers  supplied  with 


AEMY  HAPPENINGS.  211 

writing  material  and  large  quantities  of  reading 
matter,  such  as  newspapers  and  magazines.  Their 
tent  could  always  be  seen  near  soldier  camps  and  the 
boys  certainly  owe  them  many  thanks  for  their  kind- 
ness. 

While  stationed  near  St.  Louis,  just  after  the  out- 
break of  the  natives  in  the  Philippines,  I  was  con- 
versing with  a  Missouri  farmer,  who  hauled  the  slop 
and  garbage  away  from  the  kitchen,  and  at  length  he 
brought  up  the  subject  of  the  Spanish- American  war. 
As  he  drove  away,  he  said:  "Well,  Sergeant,  I 
don't  reckon  this  squabble  is  squashed  yet."  I 
laughingly  remarked  that  I  didn't  suppose  it  was, 
but  he  perhaps  meant  there  would  be  more  fighting 
before  this  matter  was  settled. 

While  enroute  for  the  Philippines,  a  member  of  our 
company  who  was  a  Kentuckian  by  birth  and  very 
high  tempered,  had  a  dispute  and  quarrel  with  one  of 
the  boat 's  crew.  The  member  of  the  crew  was  a  New 
Yorker,  and  had  a  reputation  of  being  quite  a  pugil- 
ist. The  Kentuckian  was  detailed  as  a  helper  in  the 
mess  galley,  where  he  assisted  the  cooks.  The  New 
Yorker  tormented  him  and  kept  trying  to  have  a  fight 
with  him,  and  one  day  he  struck  the  Kentuckian  in 
the  face.  There  was  a  large  butcher  knife  lying  near 
and  the  Kentuckian  started  after  his  enemy  with 
this.  Overtaking  him,  he  cut  two  long  gashes  down 
his  back,  and  then  broke  the  knife  off  in  his  right 
shoulder  blade.  As  the  New  York  boy  turned  to 
defend  himself  with  his  hand,  the  Kentuckian 
slashed  his  hand  several  times  with  the  broken  knife. 
Several  men  caught  him  and  forced  his  back.  The 
injured  man  was  carried  to  the  hospital,  where  it 
took  over  one  hundred  stitches  to  shape  him  up 
aagin.  The  Kentuckian  was  taken  to  the  brig,  where 
he  was  locked  up  for  safe  keeping.  The  other  man 
recovered,  and  after  we  landed  in  the  Philippines,  a 
court  martial  was  ordered  for  the  soldier,  but  the 


212       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

case  never  came  to  trial  and  nothing  more  was  ever 
heard  of  it. 

While  repairing  a  bridge  near  Paranake,  we  were 
digging  out  an  old  abutment,  built  from  stone  and 
mortar.  Several  members  of  our  detachment  were 
working  together,  among  them  a  Jew,  whom  we 
called  "  Ravenscamp. "  Several  boys  warned 
"Raven"  not  to  get  too  near,  as  they  expected  the 
abutment  to  topple  over,  but  he  only  laughed  at  them 
and  walked  up  and  struck  it  with  his  pick,  when  it 
come  down,  burying  him  under  it,  all  except  his  head. 
We  soon  had  him  dragged  out.  Taking  him  under  a 
large  tree,  everyone  thinking  he  was  dead,  water  was 
brought  and  thrown  over  his  face  and  after  several 
minutes  he  began  to  show  signs  of  recovery.  His 
right  leg  had  been  crushed  and  as  he  opened  his  eyes 
and  began  to  spit,  the  first  words  he  uttered  were: 
"My  hat!"  No  one  heeded  him,  and  he  kept  on, 
"My  hat!  my  hat!"  After  carrying  on  about  his 
hat  for  several  minutes,  one  of  the  boys  secured  it 
and  brought  it  to  him  and  placed  it  in  his  hand.  The 
first  thing  he  did  was  to  turn  the  inside  rim  out  and 
remove  five  hundred  dollars  in  American  greenbacks, 
which  he  had  hidden  on  the  inside  of  his  hat.  Most 
of  this  he  had  won  from  the  colored  boys  on  the 
transport  and  while  we  were  stationed  at  San  Fer- 
nando, with  his  game  of  chuck-a-luck.  He  now 
turned  his  money  over  to  the  lieutenant  for  safe 
keeping  and  he  was  sent  to  the  First  Reserve  Hospi- 
tal. Here  he  remained  for  about  one  year,  and  then 
received  his  discharge  for  disability,  and  the  last  we 
ever  heard  of  him  he  was  drawing  a  pension  of 
thirty-five  dollars  per  month. 

A  queer  character  in  our  company  was  a  man  by 
the  name  of  Palmer.  He  could  hardly  open  his 
mouth  without  uttering  an  oath.  He  spoke  very  loud, 
and  one  could  usually  hear  him  farther  than  you 
could  see  him.  After  we  had  been  on  the  Islands 


ARMY  HAPPENINGS.  213 

awhile,  one  day  Palmer  was  trying  to  purchase  some 
eggs.  He  could  not  speak  the  Spanish  language  suf- 
ficiently to  make  the  native  understand  him,  so  when 
he  arrived  near  the  native  he  motioned  for  him  to 
come  to  him.  Motioning  among  the  Filipinos  has 
just  the  opposite  meaning  to  what  it  has  to  us.  If 
you  wish  one  to  come  towards  you,  motion  away  from 
you;  and  to  go  away,  motion  towards  you.  Palmer 
motioned  toward  himself  and  the  native  started  the 
other  way.  Palmer  began  to  curse  and  rave,  as  he 
usually  did  when  he  became  excited,  frightening  the 
poor  native  nearly  to  death.  After  he  made  him 
understand  he  wanted  something,  he  then  inquired  of 
the  native  how  many  denero  he  wanted  for  the  eggs. 
All  the  native  could  understand  was  denero  and  he 
he  said  something  resembling  chicken.  Palmer 
started  in  on  him  again — "Now  you  know  I  don't 
want  chicken.  I  want  eggs. ' '  All  the  native  could  say 
was,  "Me  no  sabe."  (I  don't  understand.)  After 
Palmer  had  exploded  several  times,  raving  like  a 
maniac,  an  interpreter  was  secured  and  the  deal  was 
completed  for  five  gull  eggs,  which  the  native  had  for 
sale,  Palmer  going  away  growling  to  himself.  One 
night  we  were  in  a  dangerous  locality,  where  we  ex- 
pected an  attack  most  any  time.  Palmer  took  a  ner- 
vous chill  from  fright.  We  had  a  hospital  nurse 
with  us,  whom  we  called  "Doc."  He  understood 
medicine  nearly  as  well  as  a  doctor.  Palmer  was 
carrying  on,  moaning  and  shaking,  when  we  called 
for  "Doc."  He  examined  him  and  told  him  there 
was  nothing  wrong  with  him.  Palmer  said,  "You 
know  I  am  dying  now ! ' '  Then  he  began  again,  say- 
ing, "Bub  me,  Doc,  rub  me.  I'm  dying  all  over."  In 
the  morning  he  became  better  and  was  able  to  eat  a 
hearty  breakfast  for  a  sick  man.  The  boys  said  he 
had  taken  this  means  of  getting  out  of  doing  his 
guard  duty.  Later  on  he  was  discharged  for  dis- 
ability and  the  communication  came  to  our  company 


214       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

headquarters  from  the  pension  department,  asking 
if  there  was  any  member  of  the  company  that  knew 
of  Palmer  being  struck  over  the  head  by  a  piece  of 
bamboo.  No  one  knew  of  this  circumstance,  and  we 
never  learned  whether  he  received  a  pension  or  not. 
While  lying  at  Angelus,  in  northern  Luzon,  await- 
ing an  advance,  our  hospital  nurse,  "Doc,"  hired 
about  two  dozen  natives  for  litter  bearers  to  carry 
wounded  off  the  field.  One  of  these  he  made  boss 
over  the  rest,  as  he  could  talk  and  understood  Span- 
ish well.  After  he  had  been  placed  in  this  position 
he  became  very  dignified,  putting  on  quite  a  little 
style.  He  obtained  a  fine  white  helmet,  a  suit  of 
khaki  clothing  and  a  pair  of  army  shoes.  He  strut- 
ted around,  making  his  native  helpers  believe  that 
he  had  been  placed  in  command  of  the  American 
forces.  We  soon  had  him  nicknamed  l '  El  Capitan. ' ' 
It  was  comical  to  see  him  trying  to  walk  in  Ameri- 
can shoes.  He  would  hobble  along  and  it  looked  as 
though  he  needed  crutches,  but  it  was  impossible  to 
make  him  give  up  his  shoes  and  red  socks,  and  his 
red,  white  and  blue  necktie,  which  he  had  secured 
while  visiting  in  Manila.  As  we  advanced  on  the 
right  flank  with  the  Seventeenth  Infantry,  under 
command  of  Colonel  "Jaky  Smith,"  "El  Capitan" 
became  very  tired  his  shoes  blistering  his  feet 
severely,  but  his  dignity  would  not  permit  him  to 
remove  his  shoes  and  go  barefooted  as  the  helpers 
did.  "El  Capitan"  kept  a  close  watch,  and  as  we 
passed  a  young  native  with  a  caribou,  he  pulled  the 
young  fellow  off  and  he  took  the  animal  for  his  own 
use,  riding  it  along,  holding  its  tail  with  one  hand 
and  guiding  it  with  the  other.  He  managed  the  cari- 
bou nearly  all  day.  Towards  evening  we  passed  a 
squad  of  soldiers,  resting.  He  looked  so  comical  that 
they  thought  they  would  have  some  fun  with  him. 
They  began  cheering  and  frightened  his  caribou,  and 
soon  "El  Capitan"  was  going  up  the  road  along  the 


ARMY  HAPPENINGS.  215 

Banban  river  as  fast  as  the  caribou  could  gallop. 
The  road  turned  into  the  river,  which  was  crossed  by 
fording.  The  caribou  dashed  into  the  river  with 
"El  Capitan"  still  clinging  to  its  tail.  As  he  came 
into  the  water  he  laid  down  to  cool  himself,  but  his 
rider  still  clung  to  him.  "El  Capitan"  became  wet 
to  his  ears.  After  the  caribou  had  wallowed  in  the 
water  awhile  he  managed  to  get  him  out  again.  He 
kept  this  animal  for  several  months  and  returned 
with  it  to  his  native  village.  Later  on  the  owner 
made  a  demand  for  it  through  the  authorities,  but 
we  never  knew  whether  "El  Capitan"  was  compelled 
to  return  it  or  not. 

One  day  we  were  busy  rebuilding  a  large  railroad 
bridge  on  the  Manila  and  Dagupan  line.  Our  sup- 
plies were  all  kept  at  the  depot,  about  one  and  one- 
half  miles  distant.  We  used  a  handcar  with  a  rope 
attached,  to  pull  our  saws,  sledges,  hammers,  nails 
and  other  supplies  back  and  forth.  Our  Jew,  "Rav- 
enscamp, ' '  was  placed  in  charge  of  this  car  with  five 
of  our  Chinese  coolies.  The  Jew  was  good  for  noth- 
ing else  except  some  light  work  like  this.  We  needed 
a  quantity  of  large  bolts,  which  were  stored  away  at 
the  old  depot.  "Raven"  was  dispatched  to  bring 
these  as  soon  as  possible,  as  we  were  waiting  for  the 
material.  We  waited  for  an  hour  or  more,  but  still 
there  was  no  sign  of  "Raven."  After  waiting  for 
two  hours,  our  lieutenant  became  impatient  and  went 
in  search  of  him.  As  he  rode  up,  he  found  "Raven" 
sitting  in  the  shade,  with  one  of  his  Chinese  helpers 
fanning  him  and  chasing  off  the  flies.  Our  lieuten- 
ant, who  was  very  quick  tempered  exploded  at  once. 
The  Chenos  were  hustled  after  the  bolts  and  soon 
had  them  aboard  the  car.  When  they  were  ready  to 
start,  the  lieutenant  said,  "Now,  Ravenscroft,  you 
have  just  three  minutes  to  get  this  car  down  to  the 
bridge,  and  if  you  don't  get  there  on  time,  I  will  have 
you  court-martialed  and  bobtailed  from  the  army." 


216       ABOUND  THE  WOBLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

"Raven"  glanced  at  him  a  moment,  then  turned  to 
the  Chinamen,  saying,  *  *  Now,  Chenos,  I  just  give  you 
two  minutes  and  a  half  to  get  this  car  to  the  bridge, 
and  if  you  don't  I  will  shoot  you  all  at  sunrise  in  the 
morning."  Of  course  the  Chinamen  could  not  un- 
derstand him,  and  the  lieutenant  rode  away,  laughing 
and  remarking  that  that  Jew  was  the  toughest  pro- 
position he  had  ever  come  across. 

At  our  company  headquarters  in  Malate  barracks, 
we  had  a  large  cage,  and  as  the  detachment  returned 
from  the  campaigns  in  the  north  and  south,  all  the 
monkeys  they  secured  were  placed  in  the  cage  to  be 
kept  for  pets.  We  sometimes  had  four  dozen  in  the 
cage  at  one  time.  Our  oldest  and  favorite  pet  was 
Fanny,  a  female  monkey.  She  was  always  kept  out- 
side the  cage  and  fastened  to  a  long  chain,  which 
was  fastened  to  a  strap  buckled  across  her  back  and 
just  in  front  of  her  hind  legs.  She  was  a  very  cun- 
ning little  animal,  and  had  her  favorites  among  the 
boys  in  the  company.  If  on  the  shoulder  of  one  of 
her  favorite  friends,  no  one  could  persuade  her  to 
leave,  for  she  would  cling  to  them  and  bite  and 
scratch  if  anyone  attempted  to  remove  her.  Her 
friends  fed  her  mangos,  peanuts  and  bananas.  When 
they  approached  with  these  articles  of  food  in  their 
pockets,  Fanny  always  knew  it  and  began  tugging 
away  at  her  chain,  trying  to  break  loose.  When  they 
came  near  enough  she  would  leap  to  their  shoulders, 
make  a  great  fuss  over  them  and  then  search  for  the 
dainties.  Sometimes  the  boys  came  without  them 
and  then  she  would  remove  the  hat  and  search 
through  the  hair.  Anyone  who  had  ever  frightened, 
scolded  or  used  her  roughly,  she  would  not  allow 
to  approach  her  without  biting  and  scratching,  and 
never  made  friends  with  them  again.  A  comrade 
who  had  been  in  the  service  twenty  or  twenty-five 
years  came  in  one  evening  slightly  "hors  de  com- 
bat. ' '  It  was  very  late,  so  he  lay  down  on  the  grass 


ABMY  HAPPENINGS.  217 

near  the  cage  and  was  soon  fast  asleep.  In  his 
pockets  were  twenty-five  Mexican  dollars  and  Fanny 
was  soon  busy  removing  these.  She  hid  them  in  ev- 
ery part  of  her  nest,  which  was  in  a  box  near  the 
cage.  One  she  secreted  in  the  pocket  in  under  her 
lower  jaw.  In  the  morning,  when  a  friend  ap- 
proached, this  she  removed  and  gave  to  him.  When 
the  old  soldier  awoke,  he  found  his  pockets  were 
empty.  We  searched  the  place  and  secured  all  but 
five  or  six  pesos,  which  she  had  either  thrown  away 
or  had  thrown  them  to  the  monkeys  in  the  cage, 
where  they  had  probably  hidden  them  in  some  nook 
or  corner.  We  often  took  several  of  our  favorites 
out  to  catch  spiders.  They  were  very  fond  of  them 
and  would  climb  over  the  trees  for  hours,  hunting 
for  them.  They  were  deadly  afraid  of  ants,  and  if 
we  pretended  to  take  one  from  the  ground  to  place 
upon  them,  they  would  run  and  scream  with  terror. 
Near  Queen  Isabella  monument  was  a  large  fountain, 
where  we  often  took  them  and  threw  bright  objects 
into  the  water  to  see  them  dive.  These  they  would 
secure  and  then  swim  through  the  water  with  great 
enjoyment.  The  largest  monkey  we  called  "Chaun- 
cey."  He  escaped  and  made  his  nest  on  top  of  the 
barracks,  in  a  long  ventilator.  Most  of  the  boys  had 
small  hand  mirrors,  combs  and  other  articles,  which 
were  placed  on  shelves  at  the  foot  of  our  bunks. 
When  all  were  absent  from  the  sleeping  quarters, 
"Chauncey"  would  leave  his  hiding  place,  slide 
down  the  center  post  and  help  himself  to  combs, 
mirrors  and  everything  in  sight.  Later  we  would  see 
him  sitting  on  his  lofty  perch.  There  he  would  sit 
and  turn  his  head  from  side  to  side,  making  ugly 
faces  at  himself  in  the  glass.  At  length  he  would 
think  it  was  another  monkey  and  reach  out  his  arms 
to  embrace  it,  when  the  glass  would  drop  from  his 
paws,  breaking  in  many  pieces  below  him.  Often- 
times when  the  men  were  asleep  in  their  bunks  he 


218       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

would  creep  cautiously  out  with  some  article  in  his 
paw  and  when  directly  over  some  bunk,  let  it  drop 
on  the  sleeper  and  then  scamper  back  to  his  retreat. 
We  often  tried  to  capture  him,  but  were  unable  to 
do  so.  We  kept  our  pets  until  we  were  ready  to  sail 
for  home,  when  we  were  compelled  to  leave  them  be- 
hind, for  we  were  not  allowed  to  transport  them  to 
the  United  States. 

While  stationed  in  Bell  Tower,  in  Peking,  we  were 
one  day  very  much  stirred  up  over  a  quarrel  be- 
tween several  members  of  our  company — Lyle,  a 
Kentuckian,  who  had  been  engaged  in  a  cutting 
scrap  aboard  the  transport,  and  Mouthemont,  or 
"Monkey-monkey,"  as  we  called  him.  "Monkey" 
was  a  draftsman  in  our  engineer  office,  while  Lyle 
was  a  servant  or  "dog  robber"  for  our  lieutenant. 
We  were  all  in  the  dining  room  awaiting  our  dinner, 
and  Lyle  was  somewhat  under  the  influence  of  liquor. 
"Monkey"  was  relating  an  amusing  incident  which 
had  occurred  the  day  before,  while  Lyle  was  waiting 
upon  the  lieutenant.  As  "Monkey"  told  his  story, 
Lyle,  who  was  about  half  asleep  in  his  chair,  would 
raise  his  head  and  remark:  "  'Monkey,'  you  ah  a 
dahned  liah."  "Monkey"  again  repeated  the  tale 
and  again  Lyle  remarked,  "You  ah  a  dahned  liah." 
"Monkey"  turned  to  him,  saying:  "Lyle,  I  am  go- 
ing to  repeat  this  again  and  you  had  better  be  careful 
what  you  say."  Again  "Monkey"  repeated  the 
story,  to  which  Lyle  answered, l '  l  Monkey, '  you  ah  a 
dahned  liah."  This  time  "Monkey"  stepped  to  his 
chair  and  landed  a  blow  on  the  Kentuckian 's  nose. 
Lyle  jumped  to  his  feet  and  the  blood  flew  in  every 
direction.  Glancing  to  the  right  he  spied  a  large 
butcher  knife,  which  the  cook  had  used  to  cut  bread. 
He  made  a  leap  for  the  knife,  and  "Monkey,"  fear- 
ing the  result  of  an  encounter  with  him,  turned  and 
fled  through  the  little  door,  which  was  the  only  ave- 
nue of  escape.  Through  this  he  dashed  like  a  rabbit 


ABMY  HAPPENINGS.  219 

with  a  dog  in  pursuit.  Lyle  was  about  two  paces  be- 
hind him,  vainly  trying  to  slash  him  with  his  knife. 
" Monkey"  made  a  bee  line  for  our  detachment  head- 
quarters, covering  the  distance  in  less  time  than  he 
had  ever  done  before.  Lyle  soon  gave  up  the  chase 
and  returned  to  the  dining  room,  and  as  the  fierce 
light  died  out  of  his  eyes,  soon  became  as  meek  as  a 
lamb.  He  then  felt  very  sorry  for  what  he  had  done 
and  asked  me  to  intercede  for  him  and  persuade 
"Monkey"  to  let  the  matter  drop  and  not  report  to 
the  lieutenant.  In  that  case  he  would  probably  have 
been  court-martialed.  His  term  of  service  would  ex- 
pire in  three  days,  and  he  had  no  desire  to  spend 
months  in  prison.  I  started  in  search  of  "Monkey" 
and  found  him  standing  near  a  sentry  for  protection, 
shivering  with  fear  and  awaiting  the  return  of  our 
lieutenant,  who  was  away  in  the  city.  I  persuaded 
him  to  return  to  the  quarters  with  me,  but  in  my  hand 
I  carried  a  club,  which  he  made  me  promise  I  would 
use  in  case  Lyle  made  another  attempt  to  injure 
him.  We  soon  got  the  boys  together  and  they  shook 
hands  and  agreed  to  be  friends,  but  "Monkey"  was 
still  very  shy  and  made  sure  that  the  knife  was 
placed  out  of  Lyle's  reach.  Three  days  later  Lyle 
secured  his  discharge  and  left  the  detachment  for 
good. 

English  officers  and  their  East  Indian  orderlies 
were  very  conspicuously  brought  to  our  notice  in 
Peking.  The  officers  were  mounted  upon  fine  horses 
and  would  dash  out  of  camp  toward  the  city,  the 
horse  galloping,  followed  by  the  orderly  on  foot  and 
trying  to  keep  pace  with  the  horse.  When  he  ar- 
rived at  his  destination,  the  orderly  would  dash  up, 
out  of  breath,  and  assist  him  to  alight,  then  hold  the 
animal  until  he  had  made  his  call.  When  he  was 
ready  to  return,  the  servant  must  again  assist  him  to 
mount  and  then  follow  the  galloping  horse.  This 
practice  shows  a  lack  of  good  judgment.  The  govern- 


220       ABOUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

ment  of  which  this  officer  was  a  representative,  had 
controlled  India  for  years;  Christianity  had  been 
taught  to  the  people,  and  here  was  a  representative 
of  the  same  government  using  his  servant  more  like 
a  beast  than  a  human  being.  Missionaries  had  been 
at  work  in  China  for  years,  preaching  and  teaching  a 
good  cause  and  there  were  representatives  of  a 
Christian  nation  practicing  outrages  which  we  did 
not  see  even  among  the  pagans.  Doubtless  the  Chi- 
nese observed  these  things  as  closely  as  we,  for  they 
are  very  keen.  A  missionary  was  traveling  in  a 
sedan  chair  or  jinrikisha,  with  natives  sweating  and 
toiling  to  carry  him  over  the  ground.  This  man  was 
preaching  and  representing  a  cause  which  can  never 
be  equaled,  a  doctrine  which  is  far  reaching  and  for 
the  betterment  of  mankind.  But  these  teachers  of 
Christianity  in  a  pagan  empire  were  practicing  pa- 
gan customs,  which  would  doubtless  have  a  tendency 
to  hurt  the  cause  they  were  sent  to  proclaim. 


THE  AUTHOR 

AS    HE    APPEARS    AT   THE    PRESENT   TIME. 


PROLOGUE. 

When  hope  lies  dead  within  the  heart, 

By  secret  sorrow  close  concealed, 
We  shrink  lest  looks  or  words  impart 

What  must  not  be  revealed. 

'Tis  hard  to  smile  when  one  would  weep; 

To  speak  when  one  would  silent  be; 
To  wake  when  one  should  wish  to  sleep,  r 

And  wake  to  agony. 

Yet  such  the  lot  by  thousands  cast, 

Who  wander  in  this  world  of  care, 
And  bend  beneath  the  bitter  blast 

To  save  them  from  despair. 

But  nature  waits  her  guests  to  greet, 
Where  disappointments  can  not  come; 

And  time  guides  with  unerring  feet 

The  weary  wanderers  home.  — Turner. 

Fate  appears  to  play  a  peculiar  part  in  many  peo- 
ple 's  lives.  One  does  not  know  what  is  before  him 
in  this  life. 

While  in  the  service  my  friends  worried  and  were 
very  much  concerned  about  me  lest  I  receive  some  in- 
jury or  lose  my  life  while  campaigning  in  Cuba,  the 
Philippines  and  China. 

But  these  I  survived  without  any  serious  results. 
After  receiving  my  discharge  I  secured  a  situation 
at  construction  work,  which  consisted  in  laying  water 
mains  and  erecting  water  tanks.  The  territory 
which  our  work  covered  was  Iowa,  Minnesota  and 
Missouri.  I  was  very  much  pleased  with  the  work 
and  after  being  with  them  for  some  time,  the  con- 
tractor selected  me  for  one  of  his  foremen. 

About  eighteen  months  after  leaving  the  service, 
we  were  engaged  in  laying  water  mains  in  the  cen- 
tral part  of  Iowa.  We  had  begun  the  work  early  in 
the  autumn  and  expected  to  complete  it  before  the 
cold  weather  would  set  in.  But  there  were  many 


222       AROUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

difficulties  in  the  way  and  we  found  that  it  could  not 
be  completed  until  near  Christmas. 

The  ground  was  frozen  and  dynamite  was  used  to 
assist  us  in  excavating.  Holes  were  drilled  in  the 
frozen  ground,  a  pound  or  more  of  dynamite  placed 
in  each,  fuses  were  lit  and  with  the  explosion  of  the 
dynamite,  large  pieces  of  frozen  earth  were  torn 
loose,  thus  saving  a  large  amount  of  labor. 

One  cold  afternoon  of  December,  1903,  we  pre- 
pared one  dozen  of  these  charges  and  after  lighting 
them,  went  to  a  safe  distance  from  them  to  await  the 
discharge  of  the  shots.  After  sufficient  tune  had 
elapsed  for  the  explosion  to  take  place  I  returned  to 
the  place  and  found  that  one  charge  had  not  ex- 
ploded. Thinking  that  the  cap  was  bad  or  fuse  de- 
fective, I  determined  I  would  remove  it,  for  it  would 
be  dangerous  for  the  men  to  work  around  it  with 
picks,  for  they  were  liable  to  strike  it  and  set  it  off. 
I  bent  over  and  secured  the  fuse  with  my  right  hand, 
but  just  as  I  grasped  it  the  shot  exploded,  tearing 
off  my  right  arm,  blowing  out  my  eyes  and  fractur- 
ing my  jaw-bone. 

As  I  staggered  back,  one  of  the  men  who  accom- 
panied me  caught  me  in  his  arms,  thus  preventing 
me  from  falling.  Doctors  were  summoned  and  were 
soon  busy  trying  to  straighten  me  out.  I  was  taken 
to  the  hospital  and  for  several  days  it  was  thought  I 
would  not  recover.  But  after  a  week  had  elapsed  I 
began  to  improve.  I  then  learned  that  I  would  never 
be  able  to  see  again  and  would  only  have  the  use  of 
my  left  hand.  I  sat  up  every  day  as  long  as  I  possi- 
bly could  and  thus  gained  strength  more  rapidly. 

After  being  in  the  hospital  six  weeks,  the  doctor 
thought  I  was  strong  enough  to  make  the  journey 
home  to  Ohio.  My  brother,  who  had  been  summoned 
when  I  was  injured,  accompanied  me  on  the  journey. 
Months  passed  before  my  injuries  were  perfectly 
healed,  and  not  until  then  did  I  begin  to  realize  my 


PROLOGUE.  223 

actual  condition.  My  nerves  were  badly  shattered 
and  I  would  have  nervous  attacks  which  lasted  for 
several  days,  in  which  I  had  severe  chills  and  any 
loud  noise  would  set  my  nerves  tingling.  I  found  I 
must  have  something  to  do  to  keep  my  mind  oc- 
cupied ;  something  in  which  I  would  receive  physical 
exercise  also.  My  first  attempt  was  to  learn  to  read 
from  the  raised  letters,  but  I  made  very  little  prog- 
ress at  this,  only  having  one  hand.  I  then  decided 
to  invest  in  a  small  confectionery  store.  The  busi- 
ness was  not  very  prosperous,  and  after  a  few 
months  I  secured  an  order  of  small  household  arti- 
cles, a  small  boy  to  lead  me,  and  then  started  on  a 
journey  through  the  town  to  sell  these  articles.  I 
went  from  house  to  house  and  at  the  end  of  a  half 
hour  became  so  fidgety  and  nervous  that  I  was  com- 
pelled to  return  home,  having  made  one  or  two  sales. 
The  next  day  I  again  proceeded  on  my  round  and  was 
in  time  able  to  stand  four  or  five  hours'  work  a  day. 

I  was  at  first  very  sensitive  as  to  the  attitude  of 
the  people  to  whom  I  offered  my  small  wares  for  sale. 
Some  were  kind  and  very  considerate;  others  indif- 
ferent and  curt  in  their  replies,  which  was  very  dis- 
couraging. I  soon  visited  neighboring  towns  and 
villages  to  sell  my  wares  and  soon  I  realized  that  my 
health  was  slowly  improving.  But  I  was  unable  to 
travel  in  the  hot  sunshine  and  must  do  most  of  my 
work  in  the  mornings  and  evenings.  In  this  way  I 
met  many  people  who  were  pleasant  and  interesting 
in  conversation,  which  had  a  good  effect  upon  me. 
One  who  has  been  deprived  of  sight  has  a  rather  dif- 
ficult problem  to  face,  for  one's  misfortune  is  so  apt 
to  be  uppermost  in  the  mind.  The  mind  is  busy  al- 
ways, but  when  one  has  the  eyes  to  assist  in  changing 
the  current  of  the  thoughts,  one  can  adapt  himself  to 
almost  any  circumstances. 

One  passing  along  the  streets  sees  flowers,  trees, 
and  so  many  objects  of  interest  that  the  mind  is 


224       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

easily  diverted,  but  one  does  not  realize  the  effect 
these  have,  until  deprived  of  them,  by  loss  of  sight. 
These  must  all  come  at  secondhand  to  the  blind.  I 
could  soon  distinguish  between  the  voices  of  friends, 
and  knew  them  at  once  by  the  sound  of  the  voice. 
Another  blind  man  lived  near  me  and  often  came  to 
the  store.  We  soon  became  warm  friends,  and  spent 
many  pleasant  hours  together.  There  was  a  closer 
bond  of  sympathy  between  us,  which  drew  us  nearer 
together.  Business  in  the  store  began  to  wane,  and 
in  October,  almost  a  year  after  opening  the  store, 
I  decided  to  close  shop.  The  weather  was  disagree- 
able and  my  health  not  so  good  as  it  had  been  in  the 
summer.  Near  Christmas  another  blind  friend  vis- 
ited me.  He  was  engaged  in  selling  pencils,  and  ad- 
vised me  to  do  the  same. 

This  I  finally  determined  to  do,  and  after  securing 
a  stock  of  goods  I  once  more  began  visiting  towns 
and  even  ventured  to  cities,  doing  a  very  good  busi- 
ness. The  boy  who  accompanied  me,  caused  ex- 
penses to  be  much  higher  than  they  would  have  been 
otherwise,  but  my  health  was  much  improved  by 
these  journeys,  and  the  experience  of  much  benefit 
to  me.  One  great  drawback  to  me  was  the  city  ordin- 
ances prohibiting  the  sale  of  articles  from  place  to 
place.  In  one  city  the  chief  of  police  stopped  me  and 
asked  me  where  I  was  from.  On  hearing  my  reply 
he  instantly  informed  me  that  I  would  be  obliged  to 
return  there  or  at  least  get  out  of  his  city,  for  they 
had  enough  beggars  there.  After  showing  pencils  to 
him  and  telling  him  that  I  had  a  good  line  and  was 
trying  to  make  this  an  occupation,  I  was  told  that  it 
was  against  the  city  ordinance  and  he  would  not  per- 
mit it  there.  I  then  made  my  way  to  the  mayor's 
office  and  there  was  granted  a  permit  to  canvass  the 
town. 

I  decided  to  erect  a  small  stand  in  the  town  of 
which  I  am  a  resident  and  carry  on  a  small  business 


PROLOGUE.  225 

there.  This  was  built  on  the  principal  street  in  an 
offset  made  by  one  of  the  churches  of  the  town.  The 
church  officials  had  granted  me  permission  to  place 
it  there.  The  stand  was  built  according  to  my  own 
plans.  When  it  had  been  completed  I  arranged  my 
little  stock  of  goods  so  as  to  be  able  to  find  them  read- 
ily. I  did  well  at  this  for  some  time,  but  after  a 
short  period  business  began  to  wane,  and  I  found 
that  I  must  have  some  one  to  dust  and  keep  the  place 
in  neater  condition.  I  then  secured  the  assistance 
of  a  small  friend,  and  again  tried  it  for  awhile.  All 
through  my  business  experience  I  found  that  the 
children  seemed  to  be  my  best  friends.  They  were 
my  best  customers,  and  when  closing  out  my  little 
store  they  patronized  me  till  the  last.  Yet  I  had  a 
number  of  other  friends  who  had  stood  by  me. 

One  always  holds  a  warm  and  tender  feeling  for 
those  whom  you  know  to  be  loyal  and  true  friends. 
Those  who  always  are  willing  to  step  out  of  their 
way  at  any  time  to  do  you  a  favor.  Life  indeed 
would  be  hard  if  the  world  were  without  such  as 
these.  There  are  times  when  a  cheery  "good  morn- 
ing," or  a  hearty  word  of  greeting  means  so  much 
in  people 's  lives ;  much  more  than  many  can  compre- 
hend. But  when  we  find  that  our  lives  must  be  spent 
in  ways  not  of  our  own  choosing,  the  sooner  one  re- 
signs to  the  inevitable  and  adapts  himself  to  the 
circumstances  which  surround  him,  the  easier  it  is 
to  get  along. 

I  became  restless  and  decided  to  travel  again,  leav- 
ing my  helper  in  charge  of  the  stand.  I  made  several 
journeys  to  surrounding  cities,  being  absent  eight 
and  ten  days  at  a  time,  and  sometimes  doing  a  very 
nice  business.  In  one  city  in  particular,  I  was  very 
much  surprised  at  the  numerous  sales  we  made.  This 
was  a  large  manufacturing  town  in  northeastern 
Ohio.  A  large  element  of  the  population  were  for- 
eigners ;  many  Italians  having  business  places  on  the 


226      AROUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

principal  streets.  These  I  found  to  be  the  most 
liberal  and  kind  hearted  strangers  that  I  had  ever 
met  on  my  journeys.  I  had  always  been  of  the  opin- 
ion that  this  class  of  people  were  selfish  and  greedy. 
But  after  observing  the  different  classes  of  foreign- 
ers I  found  that  Italians,  Chinese  and  Germans 
were  my  best  patrons,  and  were  much  more  consider- 
ate in  their  conduct  toward  me  than  Americans. 
This  was  indeed  a  surprise  to  me  as  I  had  always  be- 
lieved that  Americans  were  the  kindest  and  most 
generous  people. 

I  now  desired  to  make  a  more  extensive  trip  than 
any  I  had  yet  made.  I  decided  to  go  to  Minneapolis 
and  to  Iowa,  where  I  knew  I  would  meet  friends 
whom  I  knew  before  I  was  injured.  Early  in  Septem- 
ber in  company  with  my  little  friend,  I  started  north- 
ward toward  the  Great  Lakes,  stopping  on.  the  way 
for  an  interview  with  our  district  representative, 
who  was  at  that  time  interested  in  securing  a  pension 
for  me.  Early  one  morning,  while  passing  through 
the  northern  part  of  Ohio,  we  were  engaged  in  sell- 
ing pencils,  and  had  just  made  a  sale  to  a  butcher, 
when  we  heard  a  loud  crash,  followed  by  a  noisy 
clatter  in  the  street.  Wagons  and  ambulances  went 
flying  by  at  a  rapid  pace.  People  rushed  madly  along 
the  street  and  stopped  about  one-half  block  above  us. 
There  the  east  wing  of  a  large  automobile  factory, 
which  had  been  constructed  from  concrete  and 
cement  had  collapsed,  killing  six  or  eight  workmen 
and  injuring  a  large  number.  They  were  soon  set 
to  work  to  remove  those  who  were  imprisoned  be- 
neath the  debris,  taking  the  injured  to  the  hospital 
in  automobiles  and  ambulances.  The  friends  of  those 
who  were  dead  and  injured  gathered  about  the  place, 
lamenting  and  crying. 

We  then  continued  on  our  way,  passing  through 
large  fruit  districts,  where  thousands  of  bushels  of 
large  yellow  peaches  and  grapes  were  raised.  These 


PROLOGUE.  227 

I  could  not  see,  but  my  little  companion  gave  me  in- 
formation concerning  them,  also  new  friends  whom  I 
met  on  the  way.  We  spent  Sunday  in  Toledo,  where 
we  attended  church  service.  This  we  enjoyed  very 
much  especially  the  sermon,  which  gave  me  a  new 
inspiration  for  the  coming  week.  We  spent  several 
days  in  that  city,  selling  many  pencils  in  the  large 
office  buildings  there.  In  these  we  would  go  up  on 
the  elevator,  then  starting  on  the  top  floor  walked 
down  until  the  ground  floor  was  reached.  In  one 
nine  story  building  the  boy  became  confused  in  the 
stairways  and  we  got  into  a  back  stairway  or  fire 
escape,  which  was  filled  with  dust  and  cobwebs.  I 
remarked  to  the  boy  that  these  two  floors  must  be  a 
long  distance  apart,  not  knowing  that  we  were  going 
down  the  entire  flight  of  steps  until  we  emerged  from 
the  stairway  in  an  alley,  covered  with  dust  and  cob- 
webs. Two  men  across  the  alley  called  to  us,  and 
laughingly  asked  us  if  we  were  chimney  sweepers. 

Our  next  stop  was  in  Detroit.  In  the  suburbs  of 
the  city  at  Fort  Wayne  I  met  several  members  of 
Company  B,  Ninth  Infantry  with  whom  I  had  sol- 
diered in  China.  There  I  remained  a  day,  chatting 
with  the  boys.  We  then  crossed  to  Ann  Arbor,  Jack- 
son and  Battle  Creek.  Saturday  we  spent  in  Battle 
Creek.  There  are  large  sanitariums  here  which  are 
conducted  by  Seventh  Day  Adventists,  and  we  found 
that  there  was  a  large  settlement  of  them  there. 
Their  places  of  business  were  all  closed  that  being 
their  Sabbath.  The  following  day  we  reached  Kala- 
mazoo.  That  day  being  Sunday  we  spent  the  day 
resting,  and  attending  service,  where  we  met  warm 
friends.  A  few  days  later  we  reached  Grand  Eapids. 
There  we  were  forbidden  to  sell,  as  it  was  contrary 
to  the  city  ordinance.  Our  sales  in  Michigan  had 
been  slow  with  the  exception  of  a  few  towns.  Most 
people  were  indifferent,  and  at  many  of  the  business 
places  they  made  motions  for  the  boy  to  lead  me  on 


228       ABOUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

and  not  enter.  At  Grand  Haven  we  secured  passage 
on  a  lake  steamer,  and  that  night  journeyed  across 
the  lake  to  Milwaukee,  arriving  there  next  morning. 
Here  we  sold  several  gross  of  pencils. 

The  Brotherhood  of  Firemen  were  then  holding 
their  convention  in  that  city,  and  I  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  their  official  chaplain,  who  was  blind. 
With  him  I  had  several  interesting  conversations, 
and  learned  that  his  home  was  in  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
There  I  also  met  my  blind  friend  who  had  advised 
me  to  enter  the  pencil  business.  But  he  had  now 
ceased  to  handle  pencils  himself,  for  he  could  do  bet- 
ter he  said  with  household  articles.  A  blind  friend 
of  his  from  Highland  Park,  Illinois,  was  visiting 
him  and  we  spent  several  pleasant  evenings  together, 
talking  over  our  experience  as  blind  salesmen.  It 
is  peculiar  how  soon  the  blind  become  warm  friends 
on  short  acquaintance. 

We  boarded  a  car  for  Chicago,  stopping  at  the 
towns  along  the  line,  Zion  City  being  one.  There  we 
were  told  that  Dowie,  the  builder  and  ruler  of  the 
city  must  leave  it  the  following  week  in  disgrace.  Our 
sales  were  increasing  and  we  stopped  at  Ft.  Sheri- 
dan, where  I  had  been  stationed  for  a  time  while  in 
the  service.  There  were  no  boys  here  whom  I  had 
known.  We  arrived  in  Evanston  Saturday  night, 
having  sold  about  2,000  pencils.  We  spent  Sunday 
there  and  attended  service.  Next  morning  we  pro- 
ceeded on  our  way  to  Chicago.  Arriving  on  Madison 
street,  we  at  once  had  our  stock  of  pencils  replen- 
ished. We  did  not  attempt  to  make  sales  here  for 
my  boy  was  too  small  to  pilot  me  through  the 
crowded  streets.  From  there  we  journeyed  to  Elgin ; 
from  there  westward  to  the  Mississippi.  From  there 
we  proceeded  on  our  way  to  La  Crosse  and  Winona. 
We  spent  Sunday  in  the  latter  place.  This  we  found 
to  be  a  pleasant  city,  situated  on  both  the  river  and 
Lake  Winona. 


PROLOGUE.  229 

We  now  sold  large  numbers  of  pencils,  people  were 
very  kind  and  pleasant,  and  we  spent  much  time  in 
talking  to  those  who  became  interested  in  us.  All 
towns  we  now  visited  were  small  and  we  passed  on 
to  Redwing,  taking  the  train  there  for  Minneapolis. 
While  on  that  train  many  of  the  passengers  in  the 
coach  came  back  to  our  seat,  shook  hands  warmly 
and  after  purchasing  pencils,  spent  some  time  in  con- 
versation. Several  hours  were  pleasantly  spent  with 
these  newly  found  acquaintances.  The  next  day  we 
sold  pencils  in  Minneapolis.  Here  we  were  very  busy 
selling  in  the  offices  and  business  places ;  many  peo- 
ple also  stopping  us  on  the  street  to  purchase.  We 
were  in  that  city  five  days  and  sold  more  on  the  last 
day  of  our  stay  than  on  the  first.  Thousands  of  har- 
vest hands  were  returning  from  the  great  wheat  re- 
gions of  the  northwest,  a  large  number  of  whom  were 
Swedes  and  Norwegians.  Our  next  stopping  place 
was  St.  Paul,  where  I  met  many  friends  that  I  knew 
before  I  became  blind.  Here  we  spent  several  days, 
but  the  weather  now  became  somewhat  colder  and  a 
light  skift  of  snow  covered  the  ground.  We  then 
started  on  the  return  trip,  after  visiting  the  place 
where  I  had  received  my  injury.  There  I  met  scores 
of  acquaintances,  and  old  friends.  One  bright  sun- 
shiny morning  we  went  out  to  the  place  where  I  had 
been  injured.  Near  it  now  stands  a  large  coal  chute 
and  roundhouse  of  forty-six  stalls.  After  spending 
several  days  here  and  at  Waterloo,  we  returned  to 
Chicago. 

On  our  homeward  journey  we  passed  through 
Indianapolis,  where  we  spent  Sunday.  There  we  at- 
tended a  very  impressive  church  service.  There 
were  three  sermons  given  by  three  generations.  The 
first  minister  was  ninety  years  of  age,  and  preached 
in  the  same  manner  as  he  did  in  former  years,  when 
he  was  a  young  minister,  riding  a  circuit  and  receiv- 
ing no  salary,  except  what  his  congregation  saw  fit 


230       AROUND  THE  WOULD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

to  grant  him.  The  second  minister,  sixty  years  of 
age,  who  spoke  of  the  spread  of  the  gospel  and  the 
increase  in  the  membership  of  the  church  and  the 
progress  that  had  been  made  during  the  time  of  his 
ministry.  The  third,  a  young  man  of  thirty  years, 
who  showed  how  the  gospel  is  spreading  to  foreign 
fields,  pointing  out  to  his  two  aged  brothers  in  the 
ministry,  a  class  of  fifteen  Chinese  converts,  who 
were  then  members  of  his  congregation. 

The  afternoon  we  spent  in  listening  to  the  Salva- 
tion Army  preaching  and  singing  on  the  street  cor- 
ner. After  these  had  abandoned  the  corner  it  was 
occupied  by  the  Israelites,  who  preached  on  the  im- 
mortality of  the  body.  After  these  had  passed  on 
the  place  was  occupied  by  a  man  and  small  boy  with 
guitar  and  mandolin,  who  sang  songs.  Then  we 
heard  a  sound  of  boxes  being  slid  along  on  the  pave- 
ment, and  soon  we  heard  the  voice  of  a  Socialist,  who 
spoke  on  political  subjects,  and  how  his  party  could 
benefit  the  poor  and  the  working  men.  Thus  the  af- 
ternoon was  spent  on  the  corner  of  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal streets  in  the  city.  Next  morning  we  started 
for  Ft.  Wayne,  stopping  at  small  towns  on  the  way, 
and  one  cold  morning  listened  to  William  Jennings 
Bryan  speak  on  the  political  issue,  in  Peru.  Our 
sales  in  Indiana  were  few.  In  Indianapolis  the  police 
prevented  us  from  making  any  sales,  until  I  had  re- 
ceived written  permission  from  the  mayor.  After 
crossing  into  Ohio  our  sales  again  increased  and  on 
Saturday  we  reached  Columbus,  where  the  following 
day  we  attended  service  and  visited  the  Blind  Insti- 
tution, and  spent  a  pleasant  afternoon  in  conversa- 
tion with  the  superintendent,  a  very  kind  and  pleas- 
ant man.  After  we  had  spent  several  days  here  we 
returned  home,  having  been  absent  two  months. 

I  then  planned  for  a  trip  to  Washington,  where  I 
desired  an  interview  with  the  Pension  Committee. 
I  secured  another  stock  of  pencils  and  in  company 


PEOLOGUE.  231 

with  my  little  friend  started  on  my  way.  On  this 
journey  we  traveled  through  West  Virginia,  and 
from  there  into  Maryland.  Here  it  was  very  difficult 
to  make  sales  and  in  many  towns  we  were  forbidden 
to  sell  at  all.  In  Baltimore  we  spent  several  days, 
but  had  little  success.  We  were  not  permitted  to 
sell  in  the  office  buildings  and  these  being  our  main 
hold,  we  left  for  Washington,  arriving  there  two 
days  after  the  beginning  of  the  session. 

Our  representative  from  Ohio  secured  an  audience 
with  the  committee  for  me.  The  chairman  of  this 
committee  soon  informed  me  that  he  could  da  noth- 
ing in  my  case.  My  representative  did  all  in  his 
power  to  secure  a  little  assistance  for  me  from  our 
great  and  rich  government.  On  our  way  home  we 
passed  through  an  eastern  city,  where  we  were 
stopped  by  the  police  and  not  allowed  to  sell.  Here 
we  learned  of  the  sad  case  of  a  poor  old  blind  man 
who  had  a  dog  to  lead  him.  He  sold  articles  on  the 
corner  of  one  of  the  principal  streets,  thus  making 
an  honorable  living.  He  had  made  many  friends  and 
was  well  patronized.  His  home  was  in  Virginia,  but 
he  came  to  this  place  in  the  spring  and  remained 
there  on  the  corner  during  the  summer,  selling  arti- 
cles. The  city  council  decided  that  it  was  not  the 
proper  thing  to  allow  him  to  sell  there,  because  that 
was  not  his  home,  thus  "depriving  the  'helpless  old 
man  of  his  trade. 

After  I  had  been  ordered  not  to  sell  in  the  town,  I 
proceeded  to  the  mayor's  office,  but  he  referred  me 
to  the  chief  of  police.  I  explained  to  him  that  I  only 
wished  to  visit  the  offices  and  places  of  business.  He 
informed  me  that  the  city  council  had  just  passed  a 
strict  ordinance,  prohibiting  any  sales  in  the  city. 
But  being  kind  hearted  he  at  length  gave  me  per- 
mission. We  had  much  amusement  in  making  sales, 
for  after  selling  for  an  hour  or  more,  we  would  be 
met  by  some  guardian  of  the  law,  who  would  send  us 


232       ABOUND  THE  WOELD  WITH  UNCLE  SAM. 

to  the  mayor's  office;  he  would  laugh  and  send  us 
out  again. 

There  seems  to  be  a  great  deal  of  trouble  with 
crippled  men  who  sell  articles  in  the  city.  Many  of 
them  drink  and  carouse,  thus  making  it  difficult  for 
those  who  do  not.  We  passed  through  Philadelphia, 
Harrisburg,  Altoona  and  Pittsburg,  but  made  few 
sales  through  the  eastern  cities. 

After  an  absence  of  three  weeks  we  reached  home. 
It  was  then  that  I  decided  to  try  to  relate  an  account 
of  my  traveling  experiences,  thinking  that  perhaps 
that  might  afford  an  opportunity  for  a  little  easier 
method  of  making  my  own  way.  There  is  always  a 
way  for  those  who  are  willing  to  help  themselves, 
even  though  they  be  seriously  handicapped.  We 
hope  for  better  things  in  the  life  to  come,  and  with 
a  firm  belief  and  trust  in  God,  try  to  bear  patiently 
the  trials  and  difficulties  which  we  meet  along  the 
way. 


\v\E-UN!VI 


OF-CALIFO 


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